


What it takes to make me feel at home

by Daughter_of_Scotland



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, M/M, Mate bonds, Sex between Minors, Talk about Original Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-28
Updated: 2013-01-28
Packaged: 2017-11-27 07:43:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/659524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daughter_of_Scotland/pseuds/Daughter_of_Scotland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles isn't part of the pack. That's very clear to him.<br/>So why should he listen when they tell him, that the new girl seems<br/>weird? At least it makes Derek realize that his time is running out if<br/>he wants to keep Stiles for himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What it takes to make me feel at home

**Author's Note:**

> For the Teen Wolf Superbang!  
> I got some awesome art from my last minute pinch hitter Kennestu (http://archiveofourown.org/works/659608/chapters/1202803) which I totally love!  
> Thanks to my lovely beta Moony! (http://heylittlered.tumblr.com)
> 
>  
> 
> This was supposed to be a series, but not anymore. Sorry. No more of this verse.

Sometimes, Stiles was sure he belonged to nobody.

Yes, he still had his dad, who was pretty awesome, but also clearly over-worked and not able to deal with everything his son did. Not speaking about all the secrets Stiles had to keep from him.

Just last year, he’d been sure he and Scott belonged together. Like brothers. The forever kind.

But then Allison came along and suddenly Stiles seemed to be invisible. If he wasn’t helping Scott out, be it with girl- or werewolf problems, he was always shoved in the background. That fucking hurt, by the way.

Then there was Lydia. He’d convinced himself for _years_ that she was the one, but she always ignored him. And when she didn’t, she still made it clear that Stiles would never be on her radar. Even without Jackson. So no chance there, either. Especially not after Jackson had become a real werewolf and Lydia learned everything about them.

He was smart, but his attention span was too short to really make him stand out in school.

He was athletic, but too jittery and uncoordinated to ever stay on first line at lacrosse, even if he did play a good game at least once.

And above all else, he wasn’t a werewolf.

He was just a human. Good for research, making plans, doing semi-illegal stuff to get them out of trouble (or into it, but always with good reason), but when it came down to it, he wasn’t the same as Derek, Scott or even Jackson. He wasn’t part of the pack.

Allison was human, too, but she was a hunter, she could defend herself, and Scott told her _everything_ anyway – the same way he’d once told Stiles everything – so she had no problem fitting in.

Lydia was also human, but more than that – she’d survived the bite, hadn’t turned, and after they’d finally told her everything, she’d just marched up to the Hale house and demanded to be a part of them and no one had argued.

The pack grew, Isaac, Erica and Boyd softening as they got more used to the wolf inside of them.

Jackson was arguing with Derek about telling Danny – they all hated lying to him about how Jackson was still alive and what was going on.

Peter was back and even though everyone was wary around him, he wasn’t asked to leave and seemed quite… Normal.

Derek even smiled every now and then.

They were all pack. They belonged.

But Stiles didn’t. He never would.

 

***

 

“Dude, are you even listening to me?”

Scott turned around to look at Stiles, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry. Allison is two classes over and talking to Lydia about me and -“

Stiles waved him off. “Yeah, I get it, stalker. You’re not even together anymore, you know. Whatever. I was trying to tell you something about the next pack meeting.”

Scott looked uncomfortable. “Uhm, actually… It might be better if you don’t come this weekend.”

And, yeah, that stung. “What? Why?” Stiles cried and Scott sighed, his usual _please, just calm down, Stiles_ face on display.

“Derek’s gonna teach us some new stuff,” he explained. “It’s not… Well, it’s a pack thing.”

 _Oh_. “Oh,” Stiles answered and sat back in his chair, before the teacher could even say anything. “Okay.”

Scott, dense as he was, didn’t even pick up on Stiles weird and unusual subdued reaction and just went back to eavesdropping on Allison.

Stiles… Stiles tried to keep his heart from hammering out the sound of his rejection, his pain and loneliness. He was pretty glad none of the other werewolves were in his math class – Erica and Isaac would have picked up on him immediately and Jackson too, probably.

He’d be okay when class was over. He always was. He kept the down-feelings purely for the safety of his own bedroom – after locking the window, in case Derek came for a surprise visit.

 

***

 

The worst part about being excluded from a pack meeting was learning that Lydia had been there.

Stiles found that out when Lydia asked him on Sunday morning, via text, where he’d been.

Stiles hadn’t been able to answer her. He just went back to bed, closed his eyes, and tried to breathe through the pain in his chest. As usual.

He got another text later, from Scott this time, apologizing for “misunderstanding the situation” and telling him that he could come the next weekend for sure.

So in the end Derek hadn’t even said anything about Stiles not being able to go. It had just been Scott, once more misinterpreting the alpha’s words.

And Stiles ended up being the one left out.

He was starting to get used to it.

 

***

 

Stiles was ready to accept Scott’s apology on Monday morning, but it never came. Instead, his best friend stopped at his locker, a weird expression on his face.

“There’s a new kid at school,” he told Stiles who blinked.

“In the middle of the semester? Who?”

Scott shrugged. “I don’t know yet, but I can smell it. It’s weird… I think it’s a girl, but I’m not entirely sure.”

Erica and Isaac came to stand by them at that moment. “It’s a girl,” Erica agreed. “I’ve seen her at the office, checking in. She smells like the ocean.”

Stiles frowned. “Well, that’s not helping, she’s probably just moving here from the coast. Whatever, maybe we won’t even see her at all. Or did you find out which classes she’s taking?”

Erica shook her head and the group dispanded, leaving for their different classes.

 

Stiles had just sat down at his desk in his first class – European History – when he saw the new girl enter. She looked around, trying to find a free desk, and another girl waved her over, pointing at the chair beside her.

The new girl smiled gratefully and moved over to the back, putting down her stuff.

Stiles turned in his seat to look at her more closely.

Her light brown hair was braided in a simple high pony tail, she wore sleek glasses that made her green eyes seem bigger than they probably were and didn’t seem to be overly fond of make up, he realized. She was short, wearing faded jeans, boots and  a dark red shirt over an emerald green top.

Stiles turned back around as their teacher, Mrs. Johnson, entered, smiling at them all.

“I heard we have a new student today,” she said after greeting them, looking at the newcomer.

“Why don’t you introduce yourself very quick?”

She got up, blushing a bit. “Uh… Hey. I’m Catherina. Or Cat. I’m from Florida and just moved here. Uhm. That’s the important part, I guess.”

She sat back down and Mrs. Johnson nodded, waiting until everyone had turned back to the front.

“Nice to meet you, Catherina. If you could come to me during lunch, at the teacher’s lounge, so we could talk about your experience in this class, that would be great. Now, where were we?”

Stiles tried to concentrate on the lesson, but his mind quickly drifted, back to a pack he didn’t feel as a part of and best friends who weren’t around as much as before anymore.

 

Catherina was in two of his other classes – German, where she surprised the teacher with the fact that her grandmother had been from Germany and she spoke the language fluently and only took the class as a relaxing period – and Chemistry, the one class Stiles shared with almost everyone else from the pack.

They all stared at Catherina a lot more than they probably should, but explained it with her “weird and new smell”.

Mr. Harris tested her in the first five minutes of class and had to back down as he realized that she wasn’t actually that bad in Chem – she explained that she’d taken it back at her old school and he nodded, clearly pleased to not have to clue her in on the topic.

Catherina didn’t look impressed, but Stiles thought that she was probably hating this first day. Always introducing herself, being tested… It must suck.

Which was probably why Allison invited her to eat lunch with them – she knew how hard it was to be the new kid after all.

The problem with Allison was… Even a few weeks after the fight with Gerard she and Scott were broken up. Erica and Boyd had accepted her apology but weren’t ready to forgive her yet and Stiles, too, had a hard time doing so. But she was still Lydia’s best friend and part of their group and even though she was excluded from pack meetings, she sat with them at lunch and cheered at the games. It was strained, but managable.

 

Cat ended up sitting between Stiles and Allison, poking at her chicken with a fork, frowning. “This doesn’t look very healthy,” she said. “More like a food poisoning waiting to happen…”

She pushed it away and took a bite of her apple instead.

Stiles shrugged. “It’s not that bad, really. And better than sandwiches every day or whatever your parents would make you.”

She smiled tightly. “I’ll make my own lunch for tomorrow, I think,” she said and took a sip of water. “So… I know Allison already and you’re Stiles, right?” she continued and he nodded before she looked around the table. “And who are you all?”

They introduced themselves and Cat nodded, whispering the names to herself to remember them better.

Stiles noticed how Erica, Boyd, Isaac and Jackson kept frowning, Jackson practically shielding Lydia from her. Scott, too, looked a bit uncomfortable with her there.

“I’m pretty sure I have classes with half of you, that’s cool,” she said, smiling widely. “It will help me to remember your names.”

She looked directly at Lydia. “And I need to ask you to take me shopping,” he added. “I love your dress.”

Lydia smirked even when Jackson tightend his hold on her shoulder. “No problem, how does Friday sound? We don’t have school, it’s a teacher’s conference.”

Cat nodded. “Sounds great,” she agreed and handed Lydia her phone so she could type in her number.

Cat looked at her watch. “I need to go to the teacher’s lounge and talk to Mrs. Johnson,” she excused herself, standing up. “Uhm… Where is that?”

Stiles got up, too. “I’ll take you,” he said. “I need to talk to her about a paper anyway.”

Danny frowned. “We don’t have a paper due, Stiles.”

Stiles blushed a bit. “It’s a make up thing,” he tried to explain and led Cat from the cafeteria before Danny could say anything else.

He would ask the others about their weird behavior later.

 

***

 

“So, let me get this straight,” Stiles said after Mrs. Johnson had left them in the hallway.

“You speak German fluently, you’re pretty good at Chemistry and know a lot about European History?”

Cat shrugged, looking embarrassed. “I always enjoyed learning,” she answered lamely. “And thought that good grades would get me out into the world one day…”

Stiles grinned. “You’re officially my new best friend if you considered tutoring me,” he said. “I don’t get German at all this year, History’s pretty hard, too, and Chem is just torture.”

He gave her his best puppy eyes and Cat laughed. “Well, I don’t have anything else to do after school, so why not?” she agreed. “We could meet up after school and you show me what you have problems with and I’ll see what I can do?”

Stiles punched the air. “Yes!” he exclaimed. “Perfect! I have lacrosse after school but I’ll be done around four, so we could meet up somewhere?”

She smiled. “I’ve never seen Lacrosse, I’d like to watch your practice,” she answered. “We could go to your house after that, maybe, and study there?”

He nodded quickly as they reached Cat’s next class. “Sounds great. See you on the field then.”

She nodded and entered the class while Stiles hurried off to his own classroom, still grinning widely.

 

***

 

After the championship game, Stiles was back on the bench. Apparently, when he didn’t have the adrenaline helping him he was back to being “suckier than Greenberg”, as Coach nicely put it.

Stiles did his best in practice anyway, hoping he’d get another chance one day. He wanted to feel the happiness of a good game again – it was the best he’d felt in a long time after all. And it had made his dad proud.

But with Scott, Isaac and Jackson all on the team, the chances were getting slimmer.

 

While running laps, his mind was, as always, on the threat of the Alpha Pack.

Erica and Boyd had come back to the Hale estate a few days later, beaten up and bloodied. They’d been captured by the Alphas but released after a while with a message to Derek. It was basically the same they’d put on his door: They were coming.

But they didn’t say when. Summer was over, school had started again and it was still quiet.

Stiles knew that Derek hated this situation, not daring to relax, and he was training the betas relentlessly, with Peter’s help.

Peter had become a real asset, even though his status was still undetermined. He knew way more than Derek about being a pack, helping the others along.

Also, he’d decided to rebuild the house which made living in the abandoned subway unnecessary. Isaac in particular was pretty happy about that.

Stiles still was wary of Peter and tried to avoid him. Or at least being alone with him. The guy still creeped him out.

 

So, yeah, Stiles definitely wasn’t really concentrating on practice.

Also, there was Cat. Who seemed nice. And was kinda pretty. And would come to his house later. Oh god. Yeah, definitely not thinking about practice.

 

***

 

“So, what kind of stuff do you want to buy?”

Cat looked at Lydia who’d just sat down beside her on the bleachers and smiled.

“I don’t know. Some new stuff, appropiate for here? My clothing is still very ocean-orientated.”

Lydia nodded and looked her up and down. “We’ll find something,” she assured the other girl. “Where exactly in Florida have you lived?”

Cat’s smile dropped. “Just a small town… Very small, even smaller than this one. Everyone knew everyone, it got pretty stifling.”

Lydia frowned. “And your parents thought Beacon Hills is a good change?”

Cat took a deep breath and looked at her again. “Best to tell you right away, I guess,” she said, sighing. “I’m emancipated. I live alone.”

Lydia blinked and Cat looked back to the field, watching the practice, just as Isaac and Jackson lowered their heads from where they’d watched the two girls.

“Did your parents… I mean…”

Cat shook her head at Lydia’s question. “I just couldn’t live there anymore. And California was the farthest I could go and stay in the US, I guess.”

They watched the rest of practice in silence and Cat stood up after the boys vanished back to the locker room.

“I’ll go and wait for Stiles at the door,” she told Lydia and smiled. “Uhm, if you could… keep it to yourself? I’d rather tell people myself if I think they deserve to know.”

Lydia nodded and returned the smile, standing up, too. “Yeah, sure. Thanks for telling me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She walked over to the parking lot while Cat waited for Stiles, greeting Scott and Isaac as they left.

 

“Okay, I’m here,” Stiles shouted when he came out and stopped besides Cat.

She grinned. “I can see that,” she teased him and reached out to stop his lacrosse stick from clattering to the ground. “Relax, we’re in no rush. Or do you have to do something else today?”

Stiles shook his head as they walked to the parking lot. “No, it’s fine. I’m just grateful you’re doing this for me.”

Cat shrugged. “I don’t know if I can really help you, but we’ll see. Which one is your car?”

Stiles pointed to his jeep and cursed. Standing just a few feet away was Peter Hale.  
”Oh, fuck me, what’s he doing here?” he muttered and groaned as Peter came over to them, smirking.  
”Hello, Stiles,” the man said, looking him over slowly. “So nice to see you, we missed you on Saturday.”

Stiles mumbled something under his breath but didn’t look at him.

Peter’s smirk widened. “I was looking for Lydia, do you know where she is?”

Cat, who had watched this exchange with rising eyebrows, cleared her throat. “She left some time ago,” she told Peter who looked at her.

“I see,” he answered and studied her. “And you are?”

She stuck out her hand and he shook it. “Catherina Liddle. I’m new here.”

“Clearly,” he said and his nostrils flared. “Well, I wouldn’t want to disturb you two any longer… Stiles, come over to the house tomorrow, there’re some things we need to talk about.”

He turned without waiting for an answer and left.

Cat turned to Stiles. “Who the hell is he?” she asked incredulously and he shook his head.

“Believe me, you don’t want to know. So… Do you have your own car or do you need a ride?”

Cat pointed to a motorcycle a few steps away. “I’ll just follow you.”

Stiles whistled. “Nice. Okay, I’ll drive slowly but it’s not that far anyway.”

They separated and left the school’s parking lot, Cat right behind Stiles.

 

***

 

Stiles opened the front door and let Cat in first. She took off her coat and then wandered down the hall, into the living room.

“You have a nice house,” she told Stiles and smiled.

He shrugged as he followed her. “Yeah, it’s okay, I guess,” he said and motioned to the kitchen. “Want to eat something before we start?”

She nodded and let him lead the way, sitting down at the kitchen table. “I don’t want to be too much trouble,” she said as he pulled out some left-over lasagne.

“Nah, it’s fine,” he said. “This is enough for two. I’ll just tell my dad to pick something up for himself later. He’s working right now.”

She smiled and thanked him for the can of soda he handed her as he heated up the food. “What’s he doing then? Will he be okay with you having a female guest over?”

Stiles grinned. “He’s the sheriff,” he told her. “And yeah, it’s fine, I guess. As long as we stay downstairs I don’t see a problem with it.” He frowned. “We actually never talked about it, I don’t get… Uhm…”

She laughed as he stopped with a blush. “Not that many female visitors?”

He shook his head and got up to look at their food. Cat decided to change the subject.

“So, what exactly are your problems with the subjects then?” she asked and Stiles gladly took the out to get rid of his blush.

 

After they had eaten Cat looked over Stiles’ notes and then up at him in confusion.

“I don’t really get why you think you need tutoring,” she said. “Your notes seem completely correct to me. It’s not like you don’t know what you’re doing, is it?”

Stiles shrugged, scratching his neck. “Okay, I might have exaggerated a bit,” he confessed, blushing again. “It’s just… I have a problem concentrating. I might know the stuff but I can’t… I just can’t organize it in my head. It helps if I can bounce it off of someone, study together. Usually that was Scott but… Well. He’s been distracted for a while now. So I thought I could ask you.” He smiled warily. “If you don’t want to, it’s okay.”

She looked at him for a moment and then smiled. “No, it’s fine,” she assured him. “I get it. We can do this. Maybe you can help me with Math and Biology in return,” she added and Stiles grinned.

Cat looked at his notes again. “Don’t we have a test in History on Wednesday?” she asked and Stiles nodded.

“Yeah. German is on Tuesday and Chem on Thursday next week, too.”

She hummed. “Well, then why don’t we start with History tonight and meet again for German and Chem before the tests, too? Better to just concentrate on one, right?”

Stiles agreed and they started working together.

Stiles had been right, he was always working better when he had someone to ground him, keep him focused.

 

A few hours later they stopped as they heard the front door open. Stiles was actually surprised they’d been working for that long already.

“Stiles?” came his dad’s voice from the hall. “What’s with the motorcycle outside, do you – oh. Hello,” he changed directions as he saw Cat.

She stood up and held out her hand. “Hey, Mr. Stilinski, I’m Catherina. I’m new at Stiles’ school and he asked me to come over to study.”

The Sheriff took her hand and looked her up and down before looking at his son. “I see,” he said warily. “Nice to meet you. What exactly are you studying?”

Stiles lifted his History book. “World War II, dad,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Nothing illegal or disturbing, I promise.”

Cat laughed and the Sheriff shook his head. “Very reassuring, Stiles,” he said dryly and walked over to the fridge to put the sandwiches he’d gotten for himself into it for later. “But I think it’s getting a bit late and maybe you should continue another time?”

Stiles rolled his eyes again but Cat started gathering her notes, putting them in her backpack.

“Of course, Mr. Stilinski,” she answered. “Stiles, I’ll see you tomorrow. Maybe we can find some time tomorrow for the rest before the test on Wednesday, too?”

He nodded, getting up to walk her to the door. “Yeah, sure, I’m free tomorrow if you’re okay with it.”

She smiled and waved at the Sheriff. “Bye, Mr. Stilinski.”

He lifted his hand. “Call me John,” he said. “Seems like you’ll be here a bit more often in the future.”

Stiles blushed as he herded Cat to the door. “It’s not… He doesn’t mean it like that,” he tried to explain and she laughed again.

“It’s fine,” she assured him, putting on her coat. “He’s nice.”

Stiles smiled. “Yeah… So, would you like to come back her tomorrow again or go somewhere else? I don’t have practice.”

She thought about that for a second. “How about we go eat somewhere first, then I don’t have to eat your father’s dinner again?” she asked, opening the door. “And then we could go to my place, if you want?”

He nodded. “Yeah, sounds good. See you at school then.”

She smiled and returned the nod before walking to her bike, waving over her shoulder.

 

Stiles waited until she’d pulled away before he closed the door, a small smile on his face.

“She seems nice,” his father said from the kitchen door and Stiles looked up at him.

“Yeah, she’s pretty cool,” he answered, moving back to gather his own notes. “She moved here from Florida and we’re sharing some classes. You know it helps me if I’m studying with someone else. And she’s pretty smart.”

“Doesn’t hurt that she’s pretty in general, does it?”

“Dad!” Stiles cried and John laughed before finishing his beer.

“I might be old, but I’m not blind,” he pointed out, his laughter following Stiles out of the room.

“Just don’t be too late home tomorrow,” he called after him as Stiles scrambled up the stairs, making sure his son knew exactly where he was going tomorrow.

“Eavesdropping is a punishable offense,” Stiles yelled back and closed the door to his room a bit louder than necessary, his face burning.

 

***

 

Stiles had finished all his remaining homework and was getting ready for bed when he heard the scrape of his window that usually meant a werewolf was trying to get into his room.

He sighed and whirled around in his chair, watching Isaac enter his room with an awkward smile.

“Hey,” the boy said, straightening under Stiles’ gaze.

Stiles lifted his eyebrows. “Hello to you, too, Isaac,” he drawled. “Do you know there’s this thing called a ‘front door’? Ever heard of it? I think they were made so people could enter a house more comfortably, with the knowledge of the people living in it, isn’t that just the most peculiar thing?”

Isaac just shrugged and sat down on Stiles’ bed. “Very funny,” he answered dryly. “I need to talk to you.”

“I hope you do, I mean, what other reason is there to come into my room at night after all, right?” Stiles countered, crossing his arms over his chest.

Isaac huffed and sniffed the air. “That new girl,” he started. “She wasn’t in your room, was she?”

Stiles blinked. That was not what he’d expected. “No,” he answered slowly. “We stayed downstairs, in the kitchen. We studied. Why exactly are you asking?”

The other boy raked a hand through his hair. “Look, she… Just… Be careful around her, okay?” he trailed off, sounding frustrated. “Something’s up with her.”

Stiles waited for more but Isaac stayed silent.

“Wait, that’s it?” he asked, disbelievingly. “You come here, through the window, just to tell me that? Why the hell would you do that?”

Isaac groaned. “Stiles, just trust me,” he pleaded. “She smells weird. We all noticed, even Peter, when he saw you together earlier. We can’t place it yet but something’s up. You shouldn’t get too close to her.”

And just like that Stiles felt angry. He stood up and pointed to the window.

“Leave,” he ordered coldly, ignoring Isaac’s shocked stare. “If you’re just here to make sure I don’t make new friends because you’re a pack of weird drug-sniffing dogs or something you can get out right now. Cat’s nice, and she’s new and needs a friend. I won’t stop hanging out with her just because you werewolves don’t like her perfume.”

Isaac opened his mouth to say something else but closed it with a sigh, starting to get out.

“Don’t say we didn’t warn you,” he bit out before he left, Stiles closing the window behind him, still seething.

“Fucking werewolves,” he growled.

 

***

 

Scott was the next to approach Stiles about Cat but Stiles shot him down just as he’d done with Isaac. He was still angry with them and it just grew with every distrustful look they sent in Cat’s direction.

She obviously noticed when he sat farther away from his friends at lunch and joined him.

“Is something going on?” she asked Stiles over their trays, looking at the group who stared at them. “Did you have a fight?”

Stiles sighed. “They’re just being assholes,” he said, knowing they would hear him. “Don’t worry about it. And, you know… You don’t have to sit with me, you should make some friends, I don’t want your status to go down right after you got here.”

She grinned at him. “Please,” she scoffed. “I don’t care about that, you’re nice and funny, I think I could do worse.” She looked him up and down for a second. “Attractive, too, so the visiual’s not too bad, either.”

Stiles choked on his pizza and stared at her, stuttering. She just laughed and waved him off, taking another bite of her sandwich.

“So, we still on for today?”

Stiles could only nod, still stunned by her words. No one had ever called him attractive before, especially not someone who ranged very high on his own hot-scale.

 

At the end of the day, Isaac stopped Stiles at his locker.

“Where are you going?” the werewolf asked. “You’re supposed to come to the house today, remember? Pack meeting.”

Stiles shrugged. “I’m studying today,” he answered. “We have a test in History tomorrow. You’ll have to make do without me.”

Isaac frowned. “You’re gonna study with Cat?”

Stiles closed his locker, crossed his arms and turned to him. “Yes, I am. You still have a problem with that?”

Isaac sighed. “Come on, Stiles. We’re really worried, something’s up with her. Why are you making such a big deal out of this? You’re choosing her over your pack?”

Stiles laughed bitterly. “Oh, come on,” he sneered. “I’m not pack and you know it. I’m just the human, running around with a bunch of superheroes. You don’t need me. I’ll rather stay home tonight and study for my test than watch you guys train your wolf senses or whatever you do that I can’t be a part of.”

With that he shouldered past the other boy and stormed to the doors where Cat was already waiting for him.

Isaac just stared after him.

 

***

 

Stiles parked his jeep in the parking space next to Cat’s bike and looked up at the apartment complex as he got out.

“Your family got one of the new apartments?” he asked. “I heard they’re pretty expensive.”

Cat shrugged. “It’s fine, not more than the house we lived in before.” She opened the front door and lead the way to the elevator. “I live on the fifth floor, if I didn’t have an elevator I’d probably cry every time I went grocery shopping,” she told him and Stiles laughed.

“Yeah, I can imagine. Though I heard stairs are a great work out place if you can’t afford a gym.” He paled. “Not that I think you need to work out! You’re already very hot. I mean…”

He stopped and buried his face in his hands while Cat laughed. “Thank you, Stiles, you’re not that bad yourself,” she answered just as the elevator stopped and she led the way to a door.

As she opened it she looked at him for a second. “I haven’t unpacked everything yet,” she explained. “So sorry for the mess.”

She opened the door and Stiles found himself in a small apartment, the ground full of boxes. The door led right into the living space with a small, open kitchen and from where he stood he could see two more doors of which he thought one must lead to the bathroom and the other…

He turned to Cat who looked a bit uncomfortable. “Do you live alone?” he asked carefully and she nodded with a sigh.

“Yeah…. Sorry I haven’t said anything before. My parents are still in Florida, I got emancipated a few weeks ago and then just left. I couldn’t stay there anymore.”

Stiles was stunned but decided not to ask any more questions. “Okay,” he said simply. “If you want to talk about it, I’m here. But if not, it’s fine, I won’t pry.” He looked around. “But you’re definitely invited over to dinner more often,” he added with a smile. “No one should have to spend their days alone.”

Cat stared at him as he took off his shoes and moved to sit on the living room couch.

She followed at a slower space as he took out his notes. “So, History? Want to repeat what we did yesterday or –“

He was cut off as she sat beside him, took his face in her hands and kissed him without warning.

Stiles flailed for a moment, unsure of what to do, but in a split second decided to just put his hands on her shoulders and slowly, hesitantly, returned the kiss.

After a moment Cat pulled back, her cheeks red and her lips a bit swollen. “Uhm… okay, this wasn’t exactly how I planned this,” she said with a small laugh.

Stiles let go of her. “But… It was okay… Right?”

She nodded and smiled shyly. “Yeah. Sorry if I surprised you, I just… I really wanted to do that.”

Stiles returned her smile. “No, it’s fine. I liked it. We could do that more often.” He blushed. “If you want, that is…”

Her smile widened and she moved closer to him again. “I’d like that.”

 

***

 

“What do you mean, he’s not coming?”

Isaac shrugged as he sat down on the couch, next to Erica who was getting a massage from Boyd. Scott, Jackson and Lydia sat on the other couch while Peter and Derek were still standing.

“He’s studying,” the boy explained. “With the new girl.”

The kids all flinched at that and Derek’s expression became murderous. “Didn’t you tell him she’s bad news and to stay away from her?” he asked and everyone nodded.

“He’s not listening,” Scott answered sadly. “He seems to think we’re overreacting…”

Derek growled. “What? Since when doesn’t he trust your senses, if you tell him she smells weird he should be smart enough to stay away!”

Lydia snorted. “Oh, come on, you can’t all be this dumb.”

Everyone turned to her and she blinked. “Seriously? Guys. He likes her. She’s pretty, I guess, and they seem to be on the same wavelengths. I guess telling him his crush might be a serial killer isn’t the best move right now.”

Derek felt something pinch in his chest but he ignored it for the time being. “Are you telling me he puts some… Girl… Before his pack?” he asked carefully.

Isaac shifted uncomfortably. “Actually…”

Every eye landed on him and he sighed. “Stiles said he isn’t pack. I mean, he made it sound like we think he isn’t? I’m not sure.”

This time, the pinch felt like a whole blow to his chest and Derek had to take a few calming breaths. “What do you mean, he doesn’t think he’s pack?” he asked while his eyes turned red.

It was Jackson who got the attention this time as he laughed loudly.

“What are you laughing about?” Derek snapped at him and the boy grinned.

“Please, it’s not as if any of you make him feel as if he’s really pack.”

Everyone in the room was stunned into silence, even Peter, who until now had just stood against the wall, his arms crossed. Now he let them fall and took a step closer, his eyes calculating as his thoughts raced.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Derek asked harshly. “Of course he’s pack! He comes to pack meetings, he fights with us… Why would he think he’s not pack?”

“At pack meetings he can’t really do anything, since he can’t fight with us,” Jackson pointed out. “You also refuse to let him train with Allison, knives or archery, while Lydia is allowed to do that. During fights you always tell him to stay behind so he doesn’t get hurt and yell at him when he doesn’t listen. The only times he’s useful in your eyes is when he’s researching something and as far as I noticed you never thank him for it.” He stared at Derek who’d gotten paler with every word. “Don’t tell me I’m the only one who realizes that he’s getting treated like an outsider. By all of you?”

The pack looked at each other, all of them feeling bad or ashamed. Especially Scott who remembered how he’d blown Stiles off for Saturday and then hadn’t even apologized to him.

“That’s not… I just don’t want him to be in danger,” Derek tried to defend himself and Peter put a hand on his arm.

“By treating him like a breakable doll or an invalid?” the older man asked in a soft voice. He, too, wasn’t blameless if Stiles really felt that way. “I think Jackson has a point.”

Lydia nodded slowly, rubbing Jackson’s back. “No wonder he wants to spend time with someone who sees him as something other than a liablity, who doesn’t make him feel useless,” she whispered.

Derek closed his eyes and fought back the urge to scream. This was not how this day was supposed to go!

“What do we do then?” asked Erica. “If Jackson’s right – and I never would have thought that you of all people would defend Stiles – we really hurt him. We need to make this right.”

The pack started to discuss some ideas of different apologies while Derek turned around and left the house, in need of some fresh air.

After a while he heard the door open behind him.

“You know Jackson’s right, don’t you?” Peter asked quietly and Derek gave a short nod and turned around, pain evident in his eyes to anyone who knew how to look for it.

“I didn’t… I just want him to be safe.”

Peter nodded and came closer. “I know. He’s important to you. And just so you know, it makes me happy to see you showing an interest in someone again. But, Derek… If you want this to go anywhere you need to treat him as an equal, not as someone beneath you. You need to make sure he knows that you trust him – with his own life and the pack’s.”

Derek knew Peter was right even though he hated to admit it. “I’ll talk to him tonight,” he promised and his uncle nodded.

“Good,” the man said. “Now come on, the others are starting to plan a surprise party. If you don’t intervene we’ll end up with a glitter-bombed house.”

Derek shook his head and followed him into the house, thinking about what to say to Stiles later.

 

***

 

Cat pulled back after what felt like hours. A quick look at his watch told Stiles it had just been ten minutes but it had been ten minutes of making out so he did an internally victory dance anyway.

“We should get to studying,” Cat said, breathless and with swollen lips. Stiles could barely look away and cleared his throat.

“Studying. Yes. Good idea.” He looked at his notes and laughed. “God, I can’t think of anything. This was… Really nice.”

She chuckled and squeezed his hand. “It was,” she agreed. “And if it weren’t for the test I might want to take this further but I also don’t want to get a bad grade…”

She trailed off as she realized that Stiles was just staring at her.

“Taking it… Further? We barely know each other,” he choked out and she flushed.

“Oh god, sorry. I’m too forward, aren’t I?” She groaned and buried her head in her hands. “I’m sorry, Stiles. It’s just… I like you. And you’re hot and kissing you is really great and I thought maybe…” She sighed and looked at him. “Look, I recently lost my girlfriend and you give off this… This vibe, I can’t explain it, I thought, if we liked each other, we could just… Help each other out? God, this sounds all wrong…”

Stiles grabbed her hand this time. “Calm down,” he said around the lump in his throat. “You’re really hot, too. And I’d totally be up for anything, I swear. I just… I…” He swallowed. “I’ve never done anything like this,” he whispered.

Cat’s eyes widened. “What? Really? Oh shit, sorry, if I’d known I wouldn’t have been so direct… I thought for sure you’d have had sex already…”

Stiles was bright red by now but shook his head anyway. “Nah. No one ever wanted me like that. Must be your east-coast flair,” he tried to joke but she just shook her head and stroked his cheek.

“No, Stiles. The other people here are just idiots if they can’t see what I see in you,” she told him earnestly.

Stiles smiled shyly at that and then looked back at his notes. “So, uhm… Studying?”

She nodded and returned his smile, grabbing her binder. They stayed close to each other all through their study session.

 

***

 

Stiles came home feeling pretty confident in his preparations for the History test. He also missed some brain cells after the fifteen minute goodbye making out he’d been part in at Cat’s door, but whatever.

He was still grinning as he reached his room, dropping off his backpack.

He let out a yelp when a strong hand gripped him and turned him around. He looked into Derek’s eyes who were blazing red.

“Why the hell do you smell like that?” the werewolf growled and Stiles jerked back, trying to get away, failing spectacularly.

“Like what?” he snapped back. “No ‘hello, Stiles’, you just break in here, assault me in the dark and ask stupid questions? I thought we were past that!”

Derek let go of him but didn’t stop glowering. “You smell all wrong,” he accused. “I wasn’t sure what the others meant but now I see – this girl smells _weird_ and it’s surrounding you everywhere.” He took a deep sniff. “What the hell have you been doing?”

Stiles felt fury well up in him. “We studied,” he told Derek hotly. “And made out. Because that’s a thing you can do when someone likes you and finds you attractive, did you know? I finally found someone who thinks I’m hot and worthy of their time! You won’t ruin this for me!”

Derek’s eyes seemed to burn even redder. “Did you sleep with her?” he asked bluntly and Stiles stared at him.

“Why would that be any of your business?” he asked, dangerously quiet.

Derek ignored his tone. “Stay away from her,” he ordered. “Something’s wrong with her and I’ll find out what it is. Keep away, she’s not safe and you’d be stupid to spend all your time with her!”

Stiles’ reaction must have been enough of a surprise that even Derek’s werewolf reactions couldn’t stop the fist colliding with his cheek.

Derek staggered back a few steps, stunned and staring at Stiles who cradled his hand against his chest and looked absolutely livid.

“Get out,” he almost yelled, glad his father was working that night. “You can’t control my life! You can’t dictate who I hang out with. I’m not one of your betas, I’m not even a real pack member, I’m not a werewolf! I don’t have to control myself not to wolf out when I kiss someone, I can have sex if I want it, with whoever I want. You don’t even like me, you don’t trust me; you’re not the boss of me and I won’t let you tell me what to do, Derek. Get out!”

Derek opened his mouth but Stiles just pointed to his window, still glaring at the werewolf, knowing all the other man could smell had to be blank fury.

Derek’s eyes finally shifted to their normal hazel and he moved to the window. “Fine,” he snapped. “Have it your way. You don’t want to be part of this pack? Great. Don’t expect us to save your ass when it turns out she’s just using you and will kill you when she doesn’t need you anymore!”

He left and Stiles took a deep breath before slamming the window shut and locking it.

He went to the bathroom, ready to take a shower and use the loud water to mask his furious screams. He was angry with Derek, angry with the blatant disregard of him and his decisions and he was angry with himself for not keeping himself together.

When he was done with his shower he took out his phone and stared at Cat’s number. Impulsively he sent her a text: _How about I come over tomorrow again?_

He got ready for bed as he waited for her answer. Maybe she didn’t want a normal relationship just yet, she’d said she’d just ‘lost her girlfriend’ which meant that one, she was bi and second, it hadn’t been a normal break up. So maybe she just needed a distraction. But Stiles didn’t care. She thought he was attractive and wanted him. So why shouldn’t he get on with that, too?

So when he got an affirmative text back from her, he smiled and slipped under the covers. Tomorrow he, Stiles Stilinski, would lose his virginity. And no matter what his so-called friends thought about that, he’d enjoy the hell out of it.

 

***

 

Derek slammed his head against the wall of Stiles’ house after he left the boy’s room. This had definitely not gone as well as he’d hoped.

A growl escaped him as started walking back towards the woods. He had wanted to talk to Stiles, reassure him that he was pack, that Derek cared for him – instead he’d managed to make him furious enough to actually punch him.

Derek touched his cheek which had already healed and didn’t even hurt at all. He’d completely blacked out when he’d smell the girl – Cat, Isaac had called her – on Stiles, all over him actually.

And when the boy admitted of kissing her… Derek didn’t know what to do anymore.

He’d accepted his feelings for the teenager a while ago, realized them even earlier. He’d tried so hard to surpress them. Stiles was too young, too inexperienced, too _fragile_ to hear what Derek felt for him, but that didn’t change the fact that Derek couldn’t stand the smell of someone else on the person that could turn out to be his mate.

Derek sighed as he started to jog, turning into a run as soon as he hit the trees. With the loss of his control tonight he’d probably driven Stiles even further towards Cat and wasn’t that ironic?

He growled when he remembered the smell of the girl. She smelled like the ocean, salty and wild, but also like something else, something not entirely human but he couldn’t place it. Not even Peter had been able to do it and he’d been around way longer than Derek.

She wasn’t human but they didn’t know _what_ she was or what she wanted, either.

Maybe Derek should just meet her… Ask her directly. Threaten her…

He shook his head. No, that would be too dangerous and would just allinate Stiles further.

He’d have to trust his betas to keep her in check. And keep an eye on Stiles, hoping he could figure her out before things went too far.

The thought of Stiles with anyone else made his wolf howl in pain and rage and Derek let the shift happen, running even faster.

It hurt and he couldn’t even tell Stiles why he didn’t want him to be with the girl. Because he couldn’t put him on the spot like that. And because Derek didn’t want to be rejected if he didn’t have to.

He was a coward. And he’d lose Stiles if it went on like this.

 

***

 

The next day it was blatanly obvious that Stiles and the others were in a fight. He even sat at another table at lunch with only Cat joining him. She kept throwing worried looks at the group but didn’t pressure Stiles into explaining.

Instead they talked about the History test and planned their studying sessions for other subjects. When lunch was over, Cat smiled at him.

“I know you have practice today,” she told him. “So why don’t you come over after and I’ll have time to clean up a bit and stuff?”

She blushed a bit at the last part and bend down quickly to press a kiss to his cheek.

Stiles grinned and nodded as she left, ignoring the furious looks he got from the werewolves at the other table.

He was startled out of his thoughts as Lydia slid in the seat next to him.

“Are you here to tell me to stay away from Cat, too?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow and she shook her head.

“No, not really,” she answered, sounding bored. “You can do whatever you want, I mean, it’s not like me telling you what to do would actually stop you, right?”

Stiles grinned again. “Right. So, what do you want then?”

She flipped her hair. “Rumor is you two are screwing,” she said bluntly. “Is it true?”

For a moment Stiles just stared at her, his mouth open. Then he swallowed. “Not yet,” he answered truthfully. “What’s it to you?”

Lydia was good at hiding her surprise but Stiles had experience dealing with poker faces so he could see her eyes darkening for a moment.

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” she asked carefully. “You know that the others don’t want you to stay away from her because of some childish reason. They think she’s dangerous, they’re smelling something off her. Why can’t you just accept their caution and stay away?”

Stiles sighed heavily, looking at the other table. His friends had already left, apparently ready to give him and Lydia some privacy from their eavesdropping.

“Look, this might be a foreign concept to you, but Cat _likes_ me,” he told Lydia under his breath. “She thinks I’m hot. She’s attracted to me. She’s funny and hot and smart. I like her and I enjoy spending time with her. With her I don’t have to feel… Inferior or less wanted because I’m just a human.”

Lydia put a hand on his arm. “You know that’s not how they feel about you,” she whispered gently. “They just want you to be safe. You’re important to all of us, Stiles. I know it hasn’t been a long time for all of us to get to know each other better, we’re still growing together, but we’re a pack. And you’re an essential part of it.”

Stiles took a shaky breath. He’d wanted to hear these words for so long but now they didn’t even reach him, not really.

“Thanks for saying that,” he muttered, pulling his arm away. “But you’re the wrong person to convince me of that, Lydia.” He stood up, took his tray and looked down at her. “Derek already kicked me out of the pack last night and made sure I know not to expect anything from the guys any more,” he continued and her eyes widened. “I’ll hang out with Cat later today and revel in the fact that I’m actually _wanted_ somewhere. The wolves will do just fine without having to make sure I don’t get hurt because I can’t keep up with them.”

With that he left the cafeteria without giving her the chance to say anything else.

Not that she’d know _what_ to say.

 

***

 

Scott and Isaac both tried to talk to him during lacrosse but Stiles ignored them. He didn’t want to spoil his plans with Cat because of them.

Part of him remembered his former expectations of his first time – with Lydia, preferably, but at least with someone he actually knew and liked – but the bigger part just was so _angry_ and _hurt_. Cat had been right – he felt rejected by his friends and it made him miserable. He’d always heard that sex was supposed to make you feel better and if Cat offered… then why the hell should he not seize the opportunity?

He knew he was being ridiculous. He’d known Cat for three days, just going over to sleep with her because they both felt bad wasn’t very smart. And he also knew that Lydia was right: The pack wouldn’t warn him of her if it wasn’t justified.

But damn, Derek and the others always treated him like an invalid, someone who couldn’t hold his ground, who was only good for research… He was so sick of it.

So maybe it was a stupid thing to do but Stiles had made up his mind. He’d have sex with Cat today. The concept of virginity was outdated anyway and casual sex was just as great as the whole romantic route, he was sure.

Stiles grinned as he sat on the bench and watched the werewolves hold back as to not hurt any of the other players.

It was gonna be awesome.

 

***

 

Stiles arrived at Cat’s apartment considerably more nervous than he’d been before. He’d gone back home to change and shower more thouroughly than he could have done in the locker rooms and now he was sitting in his car, working up the courage to actually go inside.

He’d grabbed the condoms and lube from his nightstand at the last minute, not sure if Cat would expect him to bring something but wanting to be on the safe side. He’d also packed a set of fresh clothes, he wasn’t sure he’d need them but better be prepared.

Suddenly his phone chimed and he looked at the message: _Are you gonna come inside or are you getting cold feet? ;)_

Stiles laughed and shook his head, looking through his windshield up at Cat’s living room window. She waved down at him.

He sighed and got out of the car, grabbing his back and moving to the door.

The hairs on his neck stood up as he reached the door and he turned around, just in time to see a pair of yellow eyes watching him from the other side of the street.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he murmured and Peter came out of the shadows, his hands up in a placating gesture.

“I wasn’t following you,” the man said, a small smile on his lips. “I was watching her house the whole day.”

Stiles snorted. “You think that makes it better? You stalking a high school girl?”

Peter shrugged lightly. “Order from above,” he answered sarcastically. “I see you’ve got big plans today,” he continued, nodding at Stiles’ bag.

He pressed it to his chest. “None of your business,” he sneered. “And I’d appreciate it if you stopped lurking – I’ll be here for a while and don’t like being watched over.”

Peter lifted an eyebrow. “She lives on the fifth floor. I won’t see or even hear anything, you know? I’ll just wait until you come out again.”

“It might take a while,” Stiles countered. “Maybe the whole night.”

Peter seemed surprised for a second but sighed. “I have time,” was the only thing he said before moving back to the other side of the street and Stiles turned to ring the bell. “Unbelievable,” he muttered and let himself into the house as the buzzer sounded.

 

“That took longer than I expected,” Cat said as she let him into her apartment.

Stiles blushed. “Yeah, sorry, Peter – the guy who waited at my jeep on Monday? – was crossing the street and saw me. He just can’t stop himself from bothering me when that happens.”

She laughed. “I see. He seemed like a real creeper.”

“You have no idea,” Stiles muttered under his breath and sat down on the coach, suddenly nervous again. “So…” He cleared his throat and looked up at her. “What now?“

Cat smirked. „Well, how about some food, first?“ she offered. “So you can relax a bit?”

Stiles nodded. “Sounds good, yeah, can I help with anything?”

Her smirk softened into a smile and she took his twitching hands in hers. “Relax,” she said quietly. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Okay? I’m okay with whatever.” She let him go and wandered to the kitchen. “And you can set the table if you want.”

Stiles nodded again and stood up to get the plates.

“I made Chicken Teriyaki on rice, I hope that’s fine with you,” Cat said as she carried the food over to the table, including a bottle of red wine. She grinned at Stiles. “Will you report me to your dad for this?” she asked and Stiles laughed as he shook his head.

“Nah, I’m a rebel,” he answered and the tension in the room lessened considerably.

They sat down and ate, Stiles’ eyes widening at the first bite. “Oh my god, this is really good,” he exclaimed and Cat blushed. “You’ve gotta give me the recipe, this would be perfect for my dad.”

She nodded and sipped from her wine. “Yeah, sure, no problem. I have a lot of asian recipes, my girlfriend was a big fan,” she said and then shut her mouth, her eyes darkening.

Stiles swallowed and took her hand. “Hey, it’s okay,” he said softly. “You can talk about it, if you want. Is she… I mean… Did she break up with you?”

Cat took a deep breath but didn’t retract her hand, instead linking their fingers together. “No, she… She died. Was killed, actually. Just a few months ago, that’s why I left home…. I found her, I just… I couldn’t stay there anymore.” She sent Stiles a watery look. “Sorry, I’ve ruined the mood now, haven’t I?”

Stiles’ eyes were wide and he squeezed her hand tightly. “No, of course not,” he assured her. “Oh god, I’m so sorry, that’s awful. I can’t even imagine…” He shook his head. Yes, he was used to loss, but finding your killed girlfriend? That was just terrible.

She sent him a small smile. “Don’t think that’s the reason I want to sleep with you though,” she pleaded. “I mean, yes, I’m still hurting, I probably will for a while. But I really do find you attractive and would like to do this with you, not just because of her. Please believe me.”

Stiles returned her smile hesitantly. “Yes, of course, I believe you. I mean…” He sighed. “You might have been right about me, too. I have a few problems with my friends right now, especially with one of them and just… It hurts. Maybe that’s part of the reason I’m so okay with doing this right now. But the main reason is that I really want to.”

 

He looked into her eyes and leaned forward slowly.

Cat shifted on her seat, moving closer until their lips met in a shy and slow kiss. The food was forgotten, soon their kisses grew deeper and, without breaking it, Cat moved from her chair to Stiles’ lap, straddling him.

Stiles’ breath hitched in his throat and he cupped her neck with one hand while he wrapped the other around her waist, pressing her closer. Cat was gripping his shoulders, whimpering slightly as he bit into her lower lip experimentally. He’d learned that she really liked that the day before.

Stiles felt himself growing harder as Cat moved on his lap, rocking back and forth in small movements and he couldn’t contain the moan that escaped him.

“Fuck,” he breathed and pulled back a bit, his cheeks just as flushed as hers. “God, this is…” He swallowed. “I’m not the first guy for you, am I?” he asked suddenly, biting his lip. “I mean, you had a girlfriend before, but –“

Cat laughed and bent down to kiss him again before she answered. “No, don’t worry,” she assured him. “I’ve had sex with a guy before. I know how it works.” She smirked at him. “I’ll show you exactly what I like, Stiles. You’ll love it.”

He felt a shiver going down his spine at those words, her voice suddenly lower than before, almost like silk caressing his skin.

He kissed her again, slower and deeper than before. “Bedroom then?” he whispered and she nodded before getting up, taking his hand and leading the way. Stiles grabbed his bag at the last second.

The food stayed forgotten on the table.

 

***

 

Peter had been looking up at the girl’s window for at least half an hour before he finally called Derek. He really wasn’t looking forward to this conversation.

“What?” Derek barked as he picked up. “Is she doing anything?”

“More like doing some _one_ ,” Peter replied dryly. “Stiles went to her and he said he might stay the night.”

Silence greeted him from the other end but when Peter concentrated he could hear Derek’s labored breathing.

“Don’t faint, nephew,” he ordered sharply. “Calm down!”

“What do you mean, ‘calm down’,” Derek snapped back and Peter could hear him pacing. “He’s up there with an unknown threat and he… He’s gonna…”

Peter sighed heavily. “Derek,” he tried again. “I know he’s important to you. We all know that. But you can’t lose your head over this, you have to stay strong. As the Alpha –“

“He’s my mate,” Derek interrupted him and for a second Peter was thrown back in time, sitting in the living room with his older brother Joshua who declared he’d found his mate, a girl from his European Literature class, and yes, of course he was sure, she was _perfect_!

Peter blinked when Derek called his name.

“How do you know?” he asked his nephew, his voice wavering, his mind still caught in the memory. “How _can_ you know?”

Derek was silent for a second. “I just feel it,” he answered in the end. “I just… I just know.”

Peter took a deep breath and closed his eyes, squeezing the phone so hard it almost cracked. “If you’re right,” he said carefully, “you’ll have to stay strong. We can’t… _You_ can’t stop whatever is happening in there right now, Derek. It’s his decision.”

He could hear Derek’s breathing hitch and Peter cursed Kate Argent for taking the boy’s father away from him once more. Peter had never found his mate and Joshua had always believed that Derek was still too young to learn more about the mating bond. Now he, Peter, had to try and keep his nephew together when he experienced one of the worst pains imaginable – the possible loss of a mate. And all that without even knowing how it felt to _find_ yours in the first place. His life seriously sucked. Why had he come back to life again?

“We’ll deal with it,” he assured Derek in the end, looking back up to the window. “Stiles belongs to us – to _you._ He knows that. Even if he is angry right now, he’ll come back. I promise, Derek.”

There was no answer but Peter didn’t expect one. “I’ll stay here,” he said quietly. “I’ll wait for him to come out. He knows I’m here. If he needs help, I’ll hear him.”

Derek took another shuddery breath. “Thank you,” he muttered and then the line went dead.

Peter sighed and put his phone away. He really didn’t know how to handle this situation and he barely hated anything more.

 

***

 

Stiles was breathing harshly, looking at Cat who had sat down on the bed after he’d taken off her shirt. His own shirt was lying on the ground by the door, the button of his jeans was already popped but his hands were resting on the waistband as he just looked at her.

He swallowed nervously. “Um… You remember how I told you I’ve never done anything, right?” he asked, chuckling a bit and she smiled widely.

“Yeah, of course. Don’t worry. We have time.”

She reached out for him and he moved towards her, kneeling on the bed as she moved backwards, against the headboard. She cradled his head and pulled him into a searing kiss, moving them both around until she was lying on her back and he was hovering over her.

“You can touch me,” she whispered into his mouth. “If you want to.”

Stiles looked down her body for a second before slowly raising a hand and trailing it down her cheek, over her neck, to finally stop at one of her breasts. He cupped it gently over the bra and rubbed his thumb over her nipple, slightly visible through the rosé lace.

She shivered and arched her back a bit, her hands sliding to his shoulders and hanging on. “You don’t have to be so careful,” she told him quietly. “They won’t break.”

Stiles laughed, feeling a bit startled, but he hardened his grip on her breast before kissing her again. He continued to thumb her hardening nipple for a while, before changing hands and doing the same to her other breast.

She whined low in her throat as he moved his mouth to her neck and sucked on it lightly. “Oh, fuck, Stiles…”

He pulled back, afraid he’d done something wrong for a moment, but the flush that spread down from her cheeks to her breasts reassured him.

“I have no idea what I’m doing,” he confessed self-consciously. She smiled at him and pulled his head back down for another deep kiss.

“You’re doing great,” she assured him. “I like having my neck sucked or bitten on…”

Stiles swallowed as she looked at him expectantly. “Um… I don’t… I’m not a fan of getting bitten… Or marked, really,” he added awkwardly.

She nodded and smiled again. “It’s fine,” she answered. “I won’t do it then. This is the most important part about sex, Stiles. You need to trust the person you’re with enough to tell them what you like and what you don’t. What you’re ready to do.”

She pushed him back a bit and opened her bra, stripping it off. His eyes were glued to her naked breasts, her nipples a darker brown than her tanned skin.

“I like it when they’re sucked and tugged at,” Cat told him and ran her hand down Stiles’ chest, tweaking his nipple playfully. He let out a surprised moan and looked back into her startling green eyes. “Just like that,” she added and he smirked, bowing his head to suck one of her nipples into his mouth, twirling his tongue around it, while his hand played with the other one.

Cat keened and ran both her hands over his chest and stomach, her nails catching on his skin, making him shiver.

 

After a while, her hands landed on the waistband of his jeans and he looked back up at her.

“Okay?” she asked and he nodded, moving back so he could pull his pants off while she did the same.

In seconds, they were both almost naked, Stiles in blue boxers and Cat in a slip matching her bra.

They looked at each other for a moment and Cat smirked slightly. “You know what I’d really like to do?” she asked, her voice almost a purr. Stiles shivered. “I’d like to blow you.”

Stiles had to press a hand to his dick to keep himself from coming right then, just imagining it. “Sounds good,” he said brokenly and she laughed, motioning for him to lay on his back. She shuffled until she was between his knees, putting her hair to one side of her face. Her eyes never left his as she bend down to mouth over his dick in his boxers.

Stiles let out a loud groan at the heat he could feel through the material. “Oh god, you’re gonna kill me,” he whimpered and she grinned.

“Not yet,” she promised and pulled his boxers off. His cock sprang up and he was only able to be self-conscious for a second before her mouth was already on him, moving up and down before sucking lightly at the tip.

“Oh my god,” Stiles breathed out and let his head fall back. “This is… Fuck…”

Cat chuckled around his dick, taking it deeper into her mouth, sucking harder and running her tongue around it as much as she could.

“Fuck, I… Cat… I can’t…” Stiles tried to breathe deeply but he was too close, the unknown heat around his cock pulling his orgasm from him in an embarrassing short time.

He lifted his head again, looking at Cat as she wrapped a hand around the part of his dick she couldn’t fit into her mouth and he could barely shout out a warning as he came. Cat didn’t pull off, instead continued to suck him, swallowing his release as well as she could.

Later Stiles was sure she didn’t expect him to look at her when he came because when she looked up at him, while swallowing his seed, her eyes flashed a brilliant green and her pupils…

It vanished so fast that Stiles was sure he’d imagined it and let himself fall back, trying to control his breathing.

Cat pulled off him with a wet pop and moved up the bed to lie beside him, not saying anything. When he turned his head, her eyes were back to their normal dark green and her pupils were dilated but normal. Yes, he must have imagined them being more slitted than round when he came.

“That was awesome,” he said breathlessly and she laughed, kissing his cheek. “Glad you liked it,” she answered cheekily.

Stiles blushed. “Sorry. For coming so fast, I mean. I didn’t really know how to prevent it…”

She shook her head and he could see her hand moving between her legs, rubbing herself. “It’s okay,” she assured him. “I like sucking guys off, the time doesn’t matter. Especially not for a first timer,” she added, winking at him.

Stiles rolled them over until he was hovering over her, smirking a bit. “Well, at least I can return the favor faster this way,” he said and she returned his grin. “That’s certainly true,” she agreed and let him slip between her legs. “What did you have in mind?”

 

As it turned out, Stiles seemed to be a natural at sucking pussy. Or it wasn’t that hard to begin with, he wasn’t sure.

But whatever it was, Cat absolutely loved what he was doing. She was practically ripping the sheets to shreds with her hands and Stiles was sure, that if he hadn’t told her he didn’t like to be marked she’d rake her nails over his shoulders instead of burying them in the bedding.

She wasn’t even talking anymore, just making high and loud keening noises and whimpering whenever he sucked at her clit especially hard. Because apparently she didn’t just like a bit of force when it came to her nipples but _everywhere_.

Stiles had three fingers pumping in and out of her while he licked around them, twirled his tongue around her clit or pulled it carefully with his teeth, sucking on it every now and then.

She’d come once already and begged him to keep going, to make her come again and Stiles didn’t hesitate to do just that – the taste of her was practically addicting.

His cock was definitely back in the game, too, back to full hardness and Stiles contemplated humping the bed when one of Cat’s hands wound up on his head, trying to pull him up but unable to due to the lack of hair (and he really should think of growing it out, jesus, this could be awesome on a whole different level!).

“Fuck me,” she pleaded breathlessly, staring into his eyes as he looked up at her. “Please, Stiles, just _fuck me_!”

Stiles shivered but nodded, pulling his fingers out of her carefully, making her whine. He bent over the bed and pulled a condom out of his bag, putting it on with shaking fingers. He had to squeeze the base of his cock for a second to keep from coming too fast again.

He looked at Cat, feeling the nervousness come back. “How do you want to, um, do this?”

She took a deep breath and thought for a second. “Lie down,” she said finally. “Let me ride you.”

Stiles nodded eagerly and lay back down as she moved to straddle him. “Ready?” she asked him and Stiles nodded, gripping her hips.

She held his dick with one hand, the other on his chest, and lowered herself down slowly.

Stiles moaned as his cock was suddenly trapped in wet heat, pushing deeper as Cat continued to sink down until their hips were flush against each other. Both took deep breaths before looking at each other again.

“So big,” Cat breathed. “I feel so fucking full… So good, Stiles, you feel so good…”

Stiles whimpered and thrust his hips up slightly, making her moan. “You’re so tight,” Stiles gasped out. “And so fucking hot, fuck…”

Cat nodded helplessly and moved up and then down again. “Move with me,” she ordered and Stiles obliged.

Soon they found a rhythm and were starting to go faster. Stiles cupped Cat’s breasts again, tweaking and rubbing her nipples while she used one hand to balance herself and the other to rub her clit.

“I’m so close,” she whimpered. “God, fuck, Stiles, I’m gonna –“  
Again it was more coincident than anything else that he saw her eyes when she came, sure that this time she wasn’t even registering it. But he couldn’t deny what he saw this time: Her eyes were definitely a brighter green and her pupils were small slits rather than round.

The shock at what he saw made him shiver but couldn’t stop his orgasm from happening; he thrusted into her erratically as he came, spurting into the condom.

When he was done, she almost collapsed on top of him, breathing into his neck harshly.

When Stiles’ breathing had calmed down he suddenly felt cold. He realized that the pack had been right – something was definitely not right with Cat.

“Fuck, this was amazing,” she whispered, her breath brushing over his ear.

Stiles swallowed and nodded, pushing his realization to the back of his mind. “It definitely was,” he agreed, wincing as she pulled off him and fell on her back beside him.

Stiles got up to dispose of the condom and then went back to the bed. He couldn’t just leave right away or she would get suspicious.

 

He let her snuggle into his chest and looked around the room.

His eyes fell on a picture on her nightstand he hadn’t noticed before. “Is that your girlfriend?” he asked and she nodded, reaching over to show it to him.

“Yeah, that’s Micaela,” she answered, tracing the girl in her arms in the picture. “She was my whole world… And one day I came home and she was just… Lying there. In the back yard, blood everywhere…” She trailed off and Stiles squeezed her shoulder as he looked closer at the picture. It must have been taken just a while ago, Cat didn’t look that much younger.

The other girl was a bit taller than her, had long hair and was definitely laughing. They were hugging each other and clearly happy.

“I’m sorry,” Stiles muttered and put the picture back.

Cat nodded again and sighed against his chest. “Thank you,” she said and clearly wanted to say more as Stiles’ phone chimed.

His eyes fell on the clock on her nightstand. “Fuck,” he cursed and Cat let him get up. “I have to go, oh god, I’m so sorry,” he rambled. “I forgot that my dad has the night shift and I’m supposed to be home when he leaves for work!”

He was already getting dressed as he talked, desperately trying to not fall over. Cat watched him from the bed, grinning widely.

“It’s okay,” she assured him. “I’m sorry if you get in trouble because of this,” she added, pointing between the both of them. “I’ll see you in school tomorrow,” she said as Stiles grabbed his bag.

He looked down at her and bend down to give her a quick kiss. “Yeah, tomorrow,” he answered before leaving the apartment.

 

***

 

When he got out, Peter was leaning against his jeep and Stiles sighed. He knew he must reek of sex, not having had the time for a shower.

“If you want to give me a lecture, save it,” he told the werewolf. “I’m not in the mood. I have to go home.”

Peter looked him up and down and frowned. “You really shouldn’t have done this,” he muttered and Stiles closed the passenger door of the jeep harder than he’d intended after putting his bag in.

“I don’t know why it’s any of your business,” he hissed. “She likes me, I like her, we had sex, end of story. Nothing to concern you.”

Peter shook his head. “Whenever someone of the pack does something risky, it concerns us all,” he argued and Stiles snorted. “I’m not pack though, right?” he said bitterly. “Derek kicked me out.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Come on, Stiles, you’re smarter than that,” he sneered. “You know my nephew would never do that. You’re an important part of the pack, always have been. You’re the only one who doesn’t see it, really.”

Stiles blinked at him, floored for a moment. “I… You’re wrong,” he whispered. “They don’t need me. I’m just a liability.”

Peter shook his head. “You’re someone they want to protect,” he argued. “Someone _we_ want to protect. Yes, you’re more fragile than most of us and yes, maybe Derek’s been sheltering you a bit too much. But do you really think he’d do that if he didn’t care about you?”

Stiles didn’t know what to say. Tears pricked in his eyes and he shook his head frantically. “I can’t talk about this now,” he cut Peter off, moving to the driver side of the jeep to get in. “I just can’t. It’s too much, I don’t know what to think right now.”

He got into the car but Peter held the door open, looking at him earnestly. “You’re very important to Derek,” the older man said clearly. “Don’t kick him when he’s already down, Stiles. He doesn’t deserve that.”

Stiles stared at him. “I don’t even know what you’re trying to say here,” he said, shaking his head. He bit his lip for a second. “I don’t want to hurt him,” he confessed quietly, not looking at Peter. “He’s important to me, too.”

With that he pulled the door from Peter’s hand and closed it, driving away without a backward glance.

He had other stuff to worry about right now.

 

***

 

His dad raised an eyebrow when he came running into the house. “You’re late,” he said and Stiles nodded.

“Yeah, sorry. I got held up with, um…”

“With Cat?” John asked and Stiles stared at him, blushing brightly. John sighed and held up Stiles’ school bag. “Found this in your room,” he said. “You haven’t been over to study, I take it?” He lifted his other hand in which he held a condom.

Stiles gaped at him. “Oh god, what…?”

“I found it on the floor in your room,” John explained. “I guess it fell out of the box you _hopefully_ took with you?”

Stiles moved over slowly and sat down next to him on the couch, burying his face in his hands. “I really didn’t want you to find out like this,” he groaned.

John chuckled. “Well, I certainly hope not,” he agreed dryly. “Stiles. You’re sixteen. And I know she’s pretty and exciting and you probably like her, but… You’ve only known her for three days.”

Stiles sighed and leaned back, turning his head to look at his dad. “I know,” he answered. “God, dad, I know. It wasn’t really the smartest thing to do. But she… She _likes_ me. She’s hot and cool and smart and she actually wanted to do this with me…” He threw his hands up helplessly. “I didn’t really think it through, I guess,” he confessed quietly.

John sighed and pulled him closer, letting Stiles’ head rest on his shoulder. “No, you probably didn’t,” he agreed. “But you’re a kid and you’re allowed to make mistakes. At least you were safe and you were both on board with it. That’s better than some of your classmates did, probably.”

Stiles laughed, startled. “I didn’t think you’d be so okay with this,” he told his dad and he snorted.

“You would think I’ve never been a teenager,” John grinned and squeezed Stiles’ shoulder. “Look, son. She won’t be the only person you’ll ever have sex with, but she was your first and that will leave an impression. I hope it’s at least a good one.”

Stiles blushed heavily. “You could say that,” he muttered.

John laughed. “Well, then I guess it’s fine. Just, be kind to her, if you decide to not do it again,” he told him sternly. “I don’t know if you two talked about feelings before but it’s never good if you’re not on the same page.”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah, don’t worry… It wasn’t… We’re not a couple,” he ended. “It was more of a comforting thing, I think.” He looked at John again. “Dad, can I…” He bit his lip. “Can I stay home tomorrow?” he blurted out. “I have a lot to think about and on Friday is a free day because of the teacher’s conference and I just… I need some quiet…”

John looked in his face for a moment before he nodded and got up, clapping Stiles’ shoulder. “Yes, okay. Just this once. I’ll call the school tomorrow when I come home and tell them you’re sick.”

Stiles grinned brightly and got up to hug his dad. “Thank you,” he breathed into his chest and John squeezed him tightly.

“I know there have been a lot of problems and lies between us lately,” he muttered into Stiles’s head. “But I’m glad that you at least trust me with this.”

Stiles opened his mouth but John shook his head. “It’s fine,” he said. “I know that you have your reasons to keep it from me. And though I hope that you’ll tell me soon, that you’ll trust me again, I won’t push you. As long as you keep away from my crime scenes and _be safe_.”

Stiles took a shuddery breath and pulled back. “I’ll do my best,” he promised. “Thank you, dad.”

John nodded and let go, pulling on his jacket. “I have to go to work,” he said, rubbing Stiles’ head. “Have a good night, I’ll see you in the morning. Love you, son.”

“Love you, too,” Stiles called after him and then sighed when he heard the door close.

 

He took a long shower as soon as he was upstairs because he was sure he’d get a visit from one of the pack soon and he didn’t really want to complicate the whole thing by smelling like sex and Cat. He just hoped that a thirty-minute shower with double the amount of shower gel he normally used would be enough.

He resolutely kept his mind occupied with other stuff until he was back in his room, dressed and sitting on his desk chair before thinking of Cat’s weird eyes and _panicking_.

It took him a while before he was able to calm down and breathe normally. He’d just lost his virginity. To a girl. To a _supernatural being_.

“God damnit,” he groaned, hitting his head on the table. “Why does this always have to happen to me?”

He pulled out his phone and hovered over Cat’s number for a moment before sending her a quick text: _Got busted. Won’t be in school tomorrow, Dad wants a boys-day. Sorry :(_

Good thing his heartbeat wasn’t traveling through texts. If she could hear his lie like a werewolf could, that is.

He got an answer just a few minutes later: _That sucks :( But good luck! Sorry if you’re in trouble. Will get your notes for you. See you soon!_

He calmed down a bit more after that – this way she wouldn’t get suspicious if he didn’t come to school tomorrow and maybe wouldn’t even come over. Which meant he had at least 24 hours to figure out what she was and what she wanted. Easy.

He started his laptop and closed his eyes as it booted up, trying to remember every details of her eyes.

Green and slitted. Also, the sheets might have been a bit more shredded than with human nails possible.

For a second his mind rested on the sex itself and he felt himself getting hard. Well. It had been pretty awesome.

His fingers landed on his neck and he wondered why he’d told her he didn’t like to be marked. Because in all of his late-night fantasies, either including Lydia or, on growing occassions, Derek, getting bitten and marked up had ranked pretty high up on his do-want list. But when he thought about Cat doing it, it just felt… Wrong.

“Goddamn,” he muttered as he realized why that was. “Not kicking Derek while he’s already down, huh?” he repeated Peter’s former words to himself. He hadn’t want any physical evidence of his sex with Cat. Because it would hurt the pack, especially Derek.

“God, I’m so screwed,” he groaned and opened Google. He could analyse his feelings for Derek later, now he had some work to do.

 

Six hours later, Stiles closed his laptop and wobbled over to his bed. He fell into the pillows face-first and wiggled around until he was under the blankets.

He’d found a few possibilities of what Cat could be but in the end decided it could only be one thing. And he’d laughed hysterically when he came to that conclusion.

A werecat. Whose name was Cat. He didn’t even know if he should admire the irony or be embarrassed by it.

Stiles let out a loud sigh and turned on his back, staring at the ceiling.

A werecat. With probably a lot of the same abilities as the werewolves, just in cat form.

Another sigh. Neither Derek nor Peter had ever met one, apparently, or they’d recognized her scent for what she was. Stiles wondered if she’d known about the pack before moving to Beacon Hills and if she’d just hoped that no one would find out what she was. Or maybe she hadn’t known and her first day of school had been way harder for her than he’d thought, getting introduced to the pack right away.

“Damn, she’s really good,” he muttered as he remembered how calm and _normal_ she’d seemed all the time. If he hadn’t seen her eyes he wouldn’t believe it.

“Well, now I know _what_ she is,” Stiles sighed and rubbed his face. “But I still don’t know what she _wants_.”

And suddenly he remembered something else. The picture. A girl with long, strawberry-blond hair and lips that looked exactly like a pair that had been part of his fantasies for years.

He sat up, his eyes wide. “Oh god,” he muttered and grabbed his phone, not caring about the time.

“Come on, pick up, pick – Jackson!” he called as soon as the other boy snapped a groggy “What?” at him.

“Yes, sorry, listen,” Stiles interrupted his grumblings about the time. “Jackson, did Lydia ever tell you if she has relatives in Florida?”

Apparently his question was weird enough to peak Jackson’s interest because he didn’t hung up on Stiles right away. Instead he hummed. “Yeah, I think… I think she said something about an aunt? A sister of her mom’s. They’re not in contact anymore though. Why?”

Stiles scratched his head. “Just… I’ll tell you later,” he answered, his mind whirling. “I won’t be in school tomorrow, you need to…” He broke off with a frustrated groan. “I’m working it out,” he promised the other boy. “Thanks, Jackson, see you soon!”

He hung up before Jackson could protest and shut his phone off.

“She wants Lydia,” Stiles whispered in the emptiness of his room. “Lydia is related to her dead girlfriend and that’s why she’s here.”

He thought about that for a while but still couldn’t figure out the connection. He let out a small scream and flopped back down on the bed. He was tired and his mind was overflowing with all the new information.

“I need to sleep,” he said aloud. “I need to sleep and tomorrow I’ll figure it out. I’ll find a way.”

His thoughts drifted to Derek and the pack. Jackson would tell them about the phone call and they’d probably appear at his house after school, demanding answers.

He wasn’t sure if he should tell them though. He didn’t want to be cut off from everything again and Derek might be more interested in attacking Cat than finding out what she wanted…

“Tomorrow,” Stiles told himself resolutely. “I’ll decide this tomorrow.”

He turned of his lights and willed himself to sleep. His mind needed rest if he wanted to accomplish anything at all.

 

***

 

When Stiles woke up the next morning it took him a moment until he remembered everything that had happened. He groaned loudly and, realizing he’d woken up hard and the memory didn’t help in the slightest, got up for another shower.

He looked at his phone as he collected clothes to change into and, making a split-decision, sent Derek a text: _Pack Meeting @ yours after school. Got news._

He went to take his shower, taking care of his erection while under the spray. And if he concentrated on his new-found knowledge of how blowjobs felt and imagined that it was Derek who gave it to him… Well, sue him, it was his private time, he could do what he wanted.

 

When he came back, rubbing his head with a towel, there was an answer from Derek on his phone: _I don’t think your virginity loss counts enough to call a Pack Meeting._

Stiles gaped as he stared down at the text and felt himself blush. “Fucking Peter,” he growled and shook his head as he typed out another text.

Oh my god, you’re such an asshole! As if I would do that! I have news about Cat, genius, because I’m, as usual, the only one with a brain in this club. If you don’t want it, fine, I’m keeping it to myself then.

Stiles knew he sounded childish but Derek’s reaction made him angry – and guilty. And he really didn’t like that. They weren’t in a relationship, not even _close_ , even if Peter told him that he was important to Derek. The man itself hadn’t shown anything like it so Stiles was free to do _who_ ever he wanted! Stiles thought about that and snorted. Yeah, sure. That’s why he felt so bad for doing it now.

His phone chimed and when Stiles looked at it, he swore. Loudly. _Peter and I are coming over._

“Oh, fuck no,” Stiles muttered and dove for his clothes from the day before, throwing them in the hamper and burying them under other stuff. He also hid the rest of the condoms and the lube back in the nightstand and did a quick look-around. Well. At least the sex hadn’t happened in _his_ room. And he’d showered twice. He couldn’t do much more.

He moved downstairs and grabbed his jacket, opening the door. His dad was sleeping after his shift and Stiles didn’t want him to wake up from the following discussion.

 

He sat on the porch, a coffee he’d gone back in for, in his hands as the Hale’s arrived.

Peter’s eyebrows lifted as he saw Stiles. “Why are you outside?” he asked and Stiles pointed to the door. “My dad’s sleeping. I don’t want him to wake up to you two in the house.”

Peter nodded and leaned against the railing while Derek crossed his arms and stood before them on the lawn.

“So, what’s your news?” Derek snapped and Peter rolled his eyes, just as Stiles choked on his coffee.

“Oh my _god_ ,” the boy groaned. “You’re even more irritating than usual. How about a nice greeting? A question how I am? If I got hurt when I found out some stuff about our newest problem? No? Yeah, didn’t think so.”

He put down his coffee and glared at Derek. “You know what? Yes, you were right. I should have stayed away from her, I should have listened to you and –“ he pointed a finger at Derek who’d started to smirk.

“You don’t get to be smug about this,” Stiles cried. “The only reason I did it was because I was fucking angry with all of you. I’m done being your little mascot, always being assured I’m just a liability and only there because of Scott. Either I’m _in_ the pack, for real, with all the dangers or I’m _out –_ but then you don’t get to control my life, you hear me? It’s your choice, Derek, because, as you so often state, _you’re_ the Alpha!”

 

Stiles stopped his rant, a bit out of breath, while Derek just stared at him, speechless.

After a minute of that, Stiles rolled his eyes and looked at Peter who just shook his head and sighed.

“Right,” Stiles muttered. “Whatever.”

Peter groaned from behind them but neither Stiles nor Derek looked at him this time.

Stiles clasped his hands together. “Well, anyway, you’re here about Cat. I know what she is and kinda what she wants. And I’d rather that the whole pack knows about it and we make _plans_ before we just ambush her and attack.”

“Spit it out, Stiles,” Derek growled and Stiles shook his head.

“No, seriously,” he argued. “I have no idea what you’d do without me. You can’t even just go and attack her because you don’t know what she is, or how powerful. She might kill you all, who knows? So, yeah, if I tell you what I know, you’ll have to agree not to go after her right away. Maybe we can work this out without killing her. God knows she’s been through enough,” he added in a lower voice.

“Oh, has she now?” Derek sneered. “Has she given you some sob story about how much her life sucks while you fucked her?”

Stiles froze and dimly he registered Peter straightening up behind him. His eyes were fixated on Derek though, whose face was completely blank.

“Screw you,” Stiles whispered, getting up. “You have _no right_ to throw this in my face. It’s none of your business if I went and had sex, it’s not like I’m yours. You don’t even _like_ me.” He took a shuddery breath. “I’m not gonna apologize for being her friend, for giving her the benefit of the doubt or even sleeping with her. It might not have been my smartest decision but it was _my_ decision. And you have _no right_ to make me feel bad about it.”

He turned back to the door. “Go away,” he said tiredly. “I don’t want to talk to you anymore. I’ll come by your house later and tell the whole pack what I found out. It’s not that urgent anyway.”

He gave Peter a short nod and went inside, closing the door quietly behind himself.

 

***

 

Peter stared at Derek, feeling speechless, after Stiles had gone back inside.

Derek fidgeted under the gaze, relaxing his arms and then crossing them again. “What?” he finally snapped and Peter shook his head.

“You’re the biggest idiot I’ve ever met,” he said incredulous. “And I’ve met a lot of people.”

He cuffed Derek across the head as he moved past him.

Derek let out a little yelp and spun around. “What the hell was that for?” he cried and Peter shot him a dark look.

“You know exactly what that was for,” he answered, already walking down the street so Derek had to jog to keep up with him. “Yes, I get that you’re hurt by what he’s done but why can’t you just _once_ talk to him like a normal person?”

Derek shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground. “I might have been a bit unfair,” he conceded and Peter snorted. Derek glared at him. “But… We all told him she’s bad news and he just went and slept with her. He threw himself at her and then he rubs it in my face –“

Peter stopped and turned around, disbelief on his face. “He did not,” he protested. “Actually, as far as I could tell, he went out of his way to not let you notice. I didn’t smell her on him at all. _You_ were the one who brought it up. _You_ were the one who hurt him deliberately. He doesn’t even know that having sex with her hurt you. Because, as you might have heard, he thinks you hate him. God damnit, Derek.” Peter sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “Something must have happened yesterday that let him learn what she is. What she wants. And instead of keeping it from us and trying to go after her alone, he wanted to tell us. But all you can think of is how he did something with her you do not approve of.

And didn’t you listen? He thinks it might have been a mistake. He’s not happy with what he did. Hell, we don’t even know how far they went.”

Derek made a hurt noise and sighed. “I know,” he ground out. “But, Peter… He’s my mate. Just thinking about him being with someone else _hurts_. I just… I don’t know how to control myself around him right now.”

“Well, you’ll have to suck it up,” Peter said coldly and pointed back at the house. “You can either let him sit there for the next few hours, being hurt and thinking he’s not good enough _again_ or you can go in there and _man up_ and apologize for being such an idiot. And maybe, while you’re at it, you should tell him the truth as well.”

Derek stared at him with wide eyes. “Wha – I can’t,” he protested. “He’s… God, Peter, he’s too _young_!”

“Your father was fifteen when he found your mother,” Peter answered quietly and Derek closed his mouth with an audible snap. “And she was completely unaware of werewolves, too, at the time. How do you think _she_ reacted? But he was still brave enough to _try_. And Stiles is already half-way there. He knows about us, he likes most of us well enough, he’s _pack._

And you know you’re important to him. Do you really think he’ll turn you away if you’re honest with him? It’s _Stiles_ , Derek. He’s the smartest of all of us.” Peter considered this for a second. “Well, maybe not all of us, but close enough.”

Derek whined low in his throat and looked back at the house, too. It had taken him a while until he was feeling safe enough around Peter to show any kind of weakness but now, when it was just the two of them, it felt easier. It felt almost as if the fire never happened, sometimes, and Peter was just the same ridiculous and cool uncle he’d been before.

Derek knew that Peter was right. He had to talk to Stiles if he didn’t want to lose him.

He sighed. “Will you tell the others to meet us at the house later?” he asked and Peter nodded, a small smile on his lips.

“Of course. Now go and claim your mate or whatever it is you have to do,” he added, laughing. “Just remember that his dad is sleeping in the next room.”

Derek groaned and trotted back, ready to take the window route into Stiles’ room once more.

Peter just shook his head and walked back to the house while texting the rest of the pack.

 

***

 

“Go away, Derek,” Stiles mumbled in his pillow as he heard the soft _thunk_ that marked the other’s entrance. “I’m too tired to fight with you right now.

“Then it’s good that I don’t want to fight,” Derek answered quietly and sat down on the edge of the bed, not really sure how to continue.

Silence settled in the room, Stiles still not moving from where he was laying face down on his bed.

Derek took a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” he breathed out and felt Stiles twitch behind him. “I shouldn’t have said that. You’re right, I have no right to be angry with you. It’s… Your choice to sleep with whomever you want.” The last bit was forced out through gritted teeth. “But I…” He sighed and stopped, losing his confidence.

“You what?” Stiles asked, flopping on his back and looking at Derek.

The werewolf turned a bit and looked at him. For once, there was no mask on his face, Stiles should be able to see the hurt in his eyes if he wanted to.

“I don’t like it,” Derek whispered. “I don’t like the thought of you being with someone else… Not just her. Anyone. I just… I don’t want to share you.”

Stiles blinked. “Why… Why would you _care_?” he asked and Derek was sure he didn’t imagine the vulnerability in his voice.

He placed a hand on Stiles’ ankle carefully and closed his eyes for a second. “Because you’re a part of me,” he answered, finally letting it out. It felt as if a weight lifted of his chest. “Because there’s only you for me. Because you’re my _mate,_ Stiles. I know you’re not a werewolf, and I’d… I’d understand if you didn’t feel the same for me or if you didn’t want to be with me but… For me there’ll only ever be you.”

He stopped and looked at Stiles who stared back at him, for once speechless. At least for a moment.

“You fucking _asshole_ ,” he gasped out and suddenly Derek found himself on the ground, Stiles straddling him and pounding his fists in Derek’s chest. It took Derek a moment to grasp the flying hands and hold them still as he watched Stiles tear up above him.

“You dick,” the boy cried. “Couldn’t you just _say_ that? Like, last week? Last _weekend_? Before I met her and before I thought you all just wanted me gone and went and made the biggest mistake of my _life_ and… Fuck, Derek. I could have given you so much I’ve given to _her_ instead.”

 

Derek held Stiles close while the boy cried into his shoulder, stroking over his back in soothing circles. He knew he’d fucked up. But he couldn’t change it now, there was only the chance of making the best of it.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered into Stiles’ ear. “I was scared… You’re so young. I didn’t want to make you feel pressured into anything. And the thought of you getting hurt, it just… It kills me, Stiles. Every time. So yeah, I probably try to shield you too much, but it’s not because I think you’re not capable or strong. It’s just because… I can’t imagine losing you. I can’t lose anyone anymore…”

Stiles whimpered and pressed himself even closer against Derek, gripping his shirt tightly.

Derek sighed and continued: “Maybe it’s a good thing you tried some things with her. I mean… If you decide you want to be with me… If you really want to be my mate… It’s forever, Stiles. I won’t let you go. So, at least this way you’d have experienced some stuff with someone else, too…”

Stiles punched him in the shoulder and Derek let out a small laugh. “Okay, sorry, bad wording,” he conceded.

Stiles lifted himself up and stared down at Derek. “Why do you make it sound as if you’re waiting for me to turn you down?” he asked disbelievingly.

Before Derek could answer, he felt lips on his own. Chapped but slightly wet lips, moving against his. With a groan low in his throat he adjusted his hands, putting one on Stiles’ neck and pulled him closer, returning the kiss and deepening it.

After a while Stiles pulled back and smiled at Derek. “So, just in case you didn’t get that – that was a yes.”

Derek made another low sound and pulled him down for another kiss, kissing the laugh right off Stiles’ lips. For the first time in what felt like forever, he could breathe freely.

 

***

 

“Well, if I’d known you wanted to stay home today to continue exploring your sexuality, I might have given you a different answer.”

Stiles woke with a start at his dad’s voice and looked up at him blearily. He was lying on something hard… not his bed. He looked down and – fucking _shrieked_ as he scrambled away from Derek who’s chest – and god, it was a pretty hard chest, what with all the muscles – he’d apparently fallen asleep on.

Derek, on the other hand, just lay stockstill, staring at the Sheriff with wide eyes, apparently shell-shocked.

“Dad,” Stiles coughed. “Um. It’s not what you think?”

John raised an eyebrow. “Try again,” he said dryly and Stiles groaned, scrubbing a hand over his face.

“Okay,” he conceded. “It might be kinda like you think. But, it’s not… We haven’t done anything, really. I mean… We just fell asleep. Nothing bad there, right?”

“Stiles, shut up,” Derek groaned and slowly got up, still not looking away from Stiles’ dad. “Sheriff,” he said.

“Derek,” John said, his eyebrow still up. “Mind telling me why I came in here to find you and my son looking like an advertisment for Octopus cuddles?”

Stiles spluttered but Derek just sighed and pulled him close to his side, leaving Stiles reeling a bit.

“Sheriff,” Derek said again. “I’d like to officially ask your permission to date your son.”

Well. That was definitely not something either Stilinski had expected him to say.

 

Apparently, sometime between them kissing and getting woken up by his dad, Derek had decided to tell the Sheriff the truth. All of it.

Granted, he asked Stiles for permission – in the five minutes they had to “get themselves in order” before going to the kitchen for a little chat with his dad.

Stiles had hesitated for a second. He didn’t want his dad to be in even more danger than he already was, but on the other hand: Knowing what was out there might even keep him safer. And it would certainly help with the whole dating-a-guy-in-his-twenties thing.

So Stiles had agreed.

And the two of them spent the next two hours telling the Sheriff everything – from the Hale fire over Peter and the Kanima to the threat of the Alpha pack. And the mating. The mating actually went over the easiest because “imagining you _setting someone on fire,_ getting almost _killed_ and _dead people coming back to life_ is definitely higher on my Shit-list than you being werewolf-married to Derek Hale”. Stiles admired his dad’s priorities, really.

Of course he was worried for Stiles. There were going to be a lot more discussions, with Stiles, Derek, the pack and even Chris Argent.

But for now, everything seemed okay. Well. As okay as their lives could get.

“And you love him?” John asked Derek and Stiles looked between the two of them.

“Yes, I do,” Derek said, his hand squeezing Stiles’ briefly. “I’ll protect him with everything I have. Even if he makes it hard, sometimes,” he added with a grin and Stiles snorted.

John sighed and leaned back in his chair, looking at the two of them. “What about you, Stiles?” he asked.

Stiles licked his lips and sent Derek a small smile. “I think… I think I’m almost there,” he answered truthfully. “But, dad… Derek’s already pretty important to me.”

John sighed again and nodded slightly. “Well. I have a lot to think about and school’s almost out. I guess you two have to talk to your… Pack?”

Derek nodded but didn’t get up yet. “Yes. We still have some unresolved issues we have to work out.” He bit his lip. “Sheriff… About… Stiles and me?”

Stiles looked at his dad hopefully as he looked Derek up and down before letting out a chuckle. “Oh, well, it’s not as if it would stop you even if I said no,” he groaned and got up, holding out his hand to Derek. “As long as you make sure not to get arrested – which means, no funny business in public – actually, I don’t want to know it at all, at least not before Stiles is eighteen,” he hastily corrected himself as Derek took his hand to shake. “And call me John, son. I figure you’re gonna be over a lot more from now on.”

Stiles squealed and jumped up to hug his dad. “Thank you,” he whispered into his ear and John nodded, squeezing him tightly.

“As long as you’re happy,” he muttered back before releasing him. “If you need help in any form,” he told them both sternly. “You’ll come to me. No more illegal stuff under my nose. If I know what you’re doing, at least I can work around the paperwork.”

Derek let out a startled laugh but nodded. “Of course, She– John.”

John nodded once more. “I’ll go and take a shower now,” he said. “And then I’ll think about what you told me. And maybe call Chris Argent. He has some explaining of his own to do.”

He went upstairs and Stiles smiled brightly at Derek before pulling him into a quick kiss. “This went better than I thought,” he said and Derek nodded, a small smile on his face. “Yeah. Same here. Let’s go?”

Stiles nodded and they left to meet the pack. The whole thing with Cat was still out in the open after all.

 

***

 

The pack was already at the house when Stiles stopped the jeep and they both got out.

“Peter will be so fucking smug,” Derek groaned and Stiles smiled hesitantly. “Do you… Want to keep it to ourselves then?” he asked.

Derek rolled his eyes and took Stiles’ hand as they moved towards the house. “Don’t be an idiot,” was all he said and Stiles’ smile grew wider.

When they entered the living room, it grew quiet. Stiles could feel them all staring at their linked hands and he could practically _hear_ them thinking.

“Well, I’m glad you got over yourself, Derek,” Peter drawled, breaking the tension. “Took you long enough to brace yourself.”

Derek growled in his direction but there was no heat in it. He pulled Stiles over to the main couch, shooing Erica and Lydia off of it and settling them both in instead, Stiles pressed close to his side.

“Scott, why don’t you call Allison and put her on speaker?” he asked and Scott stared at him. “Stiles has some information about Cat and I think Allison should know it, too,” Derek added as an explanation and Scott nodded, calling her.

“So… You two are a couple now?” Isaac asked, confused. “Does that mean Stiles just got close to Cat to find out what’s wrong with her?”

Stiles flinched and Derek squeezed his hand. “No,” he admitted. “This is more recent. Let’s just say, the whole thing showed me that I have to make my move.”

There was a snort from Jackson and a kind of choking sound from Erica but all in all the pack seemed to just accept it.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Lydia mouthed to Stiles though and he smiled at her.

 

“So, back to the real important topic,” Peter said as Scott put his phone on the table, Allison on the other side of the call. “Stiles, you said you found out what Cat is?”

Stiles sighed and nodded. “Yeah. Her eyes… They changed. Twice.”

Derek took a sharp breath but didn’t interrupt him, just pulled him closer.

“In what way?” Lydia asked. “Anything you could pinpoint?”

Stiles nodded again. “Yeah, I did some research last night – which is why I wasn’t at school, thanks for asking by the way – and it seems she’s a werecat.”

Schocked silence rang through the room until it was broken by Peter who hit his head against the wall. “Of course,” he groaned. “That’s why she smells so weird. Another were, close enough for us to know she’s a threat but if you haven’t smelled it before you wouldn’t know what she is.”

He pointed at Derek. “Remember? Your father once met one. He tried to describe the scent but we didn’t really get it.”

Derek frowned. “Yeah, I think… That was years ago, I don’t really remember it that great, I was too young…”

Peter agreed. “Yeah, you were about nine or so. There was a family moving in here and the mother and one of the children – well, they were already adults themselves, actually -  were werecats. They argued about territory but your dad decided to let them live here. The mother died at some point, though, and the one daughter moved away. We didn’t keep track of the other one.”

Jackson sat up straighter. “Oh my god,” he breathed out and pulled Lydia closer to himself, making her give a surprised yelp. “Is that why you called me last night? About Lydia’s family?”

All eyes flew to Stiles again and he nodded slowly. “Yes,” he admitted. “Cat, she… She has a picture of her girlfriend in her room. And that girl, she… Lydia, she has your hair and your mouth. And Jackson said you have an aunt in Florida.” He took another deep breath. “I think Cat’s girlfriend’s your cousin.”

 

***

 

It had taken the pack about half an hour to calm down after Stiles’ words. Half an hour in which Allison had asked to be allowed to come over – which had been granted – and Lydia desperately trying to remember what she knew of her aunt and grandmother.

The others discussed various plans among themselves while Derek and Stiles just sat next to each other quietly.

When Allison arrived, though, Derek asked them to calm down.

“What do you think she wants here?” he asked Stiles who shrugged.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “She told me her girlfriend had been murdered and she’d found her. She couldn’t stay there anymore and came here instead. Well, I figure the story about her girlfriend – Micaela, I think – was true but she came here specifically to find Lydia. And maybe her mom? Maybe she wants to tell them about Micaela’s death?”

Allison nodded. She was sitting beside Lydia, holding her just as tight as Jackson did. “Yeah, maybe. I mean, one of the first things she did was making up a date with Lydia, right? So I guess she wanted to contact her from the beginning.”

Lydia made a small noise in the back of her throat. “We’re supposed to go shopping tomorrow,” she explained. “Do you think she’s going to attack me?”

Derek frowned at that but it was Peter who answered. “I don’t think so,” he mused aloud. “I think she wants to befriend you, and maybe get access to your family. But I don’t think she wants to harm you.”

“You shouldn’t be alone with her though,” Derek added. “Just to be safe.”

“Allison and I can just accompany her,” Erica said. “Make a girl’s day out of it. It’s not unusual.”

Allison nodded eagerly and Lydia sent Erica a thankful look. “Sounds good,” she said. “I mean, if you think she won’t get suspicious… She must know that Erica’s a werewolf, right?”

Stiles shrugged. “I have no idea actually,” he confessed. “She’s so calm around you all. She doesn’t seem threatened at all. Maybe she does know you’re not really human – I mean, the way you reacted to her alone should tip her off – but she doesn’t know exactly what you are? Or she doesn’t care. Which is just another proof that she doesn’t want to harm us.”

Derek sighed but agreed. “I think that’s possible,” he said. “So yeah, you two go with Lydia, keep an eye out. But don’t attack her or even say anything. Pretend that nothing’s wrong. Can you do that?”

The girls all nodded.

“I’m not really happy with this,” Jackson muttered. “Not that I don’t think you three can take care of yourself,” he added hastily at the nasty glares he received from the girls. “I just… We still don’t know what she _wants_.”

“True,” Stiles agreed, rubbing his forehead. “Maybe… What if, while the girls are occupying her, we talk to Lydia’s mom?”

Lydia shot him a startled look. “Why my mom?” she asked.

“Because she should know that her mother and sister were werecats,” Peter answered. “And if we tell her about Cat, she might be ready to help us out.”

Lydia buried her head in her hands. “Oh my god. My grandmother was a werecat,” she moaned. “I just… Why wouldn’t my mom say anything? I mean, when I got… Attacked… She should have known that something is up.”

No one had an answer to that and she sighed. “No, I don’t want my mom involved in this,” she demanded. “Not yet. Lets just find out what Cat wants, first, and then we can still go to her. Okay?”

Derek nodded. “As you wish,” he agreed. “She’s your mother, hence it’s your choice. But when this is over I recommend telling her everything.” He grinned. “What’s one more parent in the know? We’re only missing Erica, Jackson and Boyd then.”

Everyone turned back to stare at Stiles who blushed. “Yeah, we told my dad earlier,” he explained. “It was the easiest way to get him to understand our relationship.”

“Dude,” Scott exclaimed. “Why didn’t you say this earlier? I have to tell my mom, she’ll be so happy that she doesn’t have to lie to your dad anymore!” He took out his phone and texted her right away.

“It’s probably a good thing to have the Sheriff on our side,” Peter agreed. “I think you made the right decision, Derek. Not just for your relationship but for all of us.”

Stiles snorted. “Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, buddy,” he smirked. “Wait until he comes to you, asking about the stuff that went down last year.”

The others laughed at that and even Derek smiled a bit.

 

“Well, now that we have cleared that up,” he said and let the others calm down again. “You girls try and find out what Cat wants tomorrow. Maybe she’ll tell you some stuff. But, just in case…”

He looked at Stiles. “Maybe you should meet her somewhere on Saturday. And we’re all gonna be there.”

Stiles frowned. “You want to sneak-attack her? Not cool, Derek.”

Derek shook his head. “Not like that,” he protested. “Just… We need to talk to her. Find out what she really wants. Confronting her seems the best idea.”

Stiles thought about it but Isaac nodded.

“I agree,” the boy said. “It’s not… She seems nice enough,” he conceded. “And she can stay here for all I care. But I don’t like the not-knowing.”

The others mostly agreed so Stiles sighed. “Okay, I guess,” he said. “Let’s wait until your girl-date is over, maybe she’ll say something useful. But after that – okay, we’ll do it that way.”

“Then it’s decided,” Derek declared and got up. “Just don’t tip her off tomorrow, girls.”

He clasped Lydia’s shoulder. “I’m sure it’s nothing,” he said with a small smile. “You’ll be fine. And you’ll get your answers soon, okay?”

She nodded and took Jackson’s hand to leave the house.  
”We’ll meet back here tomorrow at three,” Derek called after the teenagers who started to walk away. “We’ll discuss everything then.”

Everyone agreed and soon it was just Derek, Peter and Stiles left, Isaac having left with Scott to go to the animal clinic.

 

“Well, it seems like this whole business will be taken care of shortly,” the older man said and Derek leaned back, rubbing his face.

“Let’s hope so,” he ground out. “It’s exhausting…”

Peter chuckled. “It’s normal. As the Alpha, you have a certain… Feeling, when a strange were enters your territory. It doesn’t just work with werewolves even though it’s strongest then. So having her here, her scent on your betas and Stiles, must have been hard. If we find out what she wants and you either accept her or she leaves you’ll feel better.”

Derek looked up at him. “You know, you could have told me that earlier,” he said warily.

Peter shrugged. “It’s not…” He stopped and sighed. “I wasn’t trained to be an Alpha, just the same as you,” he continued. “Some things I just picked up on. It’s not always the first thing I think of.”

Stiles looked between the two of them with wide eyes. “You’ve gotten better with each other,” he blurted out and they looked at him. “I mean,” he tried to explain, “you work better together.”

The two Hales shared a look. “Well, we are family,” Peter finally said and grabbed his coat. “I’ll go out for a bit,” he added. “Have fun, you two.” He left.

 

***

 

Lydia waved over to Cat as they approached her at the mall’s entrance.

“Hey there. I brought reinforcements, I hope that’s okay,” she greeted cheerily.

For a second, Cat’s mouth hardened but then she smiled brightly. “Yeah, of course,” she answered. “The more the merrier. And you can all help me find some new clothes, I’m really sick of the stuff I pull out of boxes every day.”

“I’m sure we’ll find some stuff for you,” Allison said sweetly and together they went inside, heading for the nearest clothing store.

 

After three hours, even Erica had to admit that Cat seemed just like any other normal girl. She was funny, goofed around with them and had a pretty nice fashion sense. If her smell wouldn’t make her skin crawl she’d be all over befriending her.

“So,” Lydia said at some point when they’d taken a break to drink some coffee, “tell us more about you and Stiles.”

Erica almost choked on her latte while Allison stared at Lydia wide eyes.

“What?” she smiled. “I’m curious. Stiles seems completely enarmoured by you, after all.”

Cat had flushed brightly and stared into her cup. “Well, he’s nice,” she admitted. “And hot. Kinda my type, as far as boys go.” She smiled shyly. “We’re friends, I guess.”

Erica leaned forward. Stiles might be her Alpha’s mate but this was still _gossip_. She couldn’t just pass it up. “But you’re more than friends, aren’t you?” she teased.

Cat coughed. “Well… We did… Do some stuff,” she amended and now all the girls crowded closer.

“What stuff?” Lydia asked with wide eyes and Cat grinned.

“Everything,” she whispered and Allison gaped at her.

“Wait, you mean, you two had sex?” she squeaked. “The complete thing?”

Cat nodded. “Yeah… We both felt pretty bad, it was more of a comfort thing, you know?”

She took a sip of her drink. “But god… That boy’s got a mouth on him… I’ve never come so fast from being eaten out, seriously.”

Lydia gasped loudly and Erica reached out to slap her on the shoulder. “Oh my _god_ , and you were the one who always had the chance to experience that and passed it up,” she groaned.

Allison snorted into her drink and Cat stared at them. “Wait… The one he actually likes is you?” she asked incredously. “But don’t you have a boyfriend?”

Lydia shrugged, shaking off her surprise. “He’s been after me for years,” she explained. “But he’s snapped out of that. He’s after someone else now,” she added with a smirk.

Allison rolled her eyes. “He’s not after Derek, the two of them already found each other,” she corrected and smiled at Cat. “I guess the sex with you made them come over whatever stopped them from declaring their feelings.”

Cat laughed. “Well, that’s nice to hear,” she said. “Though I’m sad to hear I won’t be able to receive his talents anymore… He was a real natural.”

Erica groaned and hit her head on the table. “Derek will kill me if he finds out I know that about his boyfriend,” she whined and the other girls laughed, changing the subject.

“So, Cat,” Lydia said, sipping on her coffee. “You never actually said why you decided to come to Beacon Hills. I mean, why here of all places?”

The other two looked at her curiously and Cat swallowed before looking at her cup.

“Well,” she muttered. “I guess I can…” She sighed. “Something happened at home,” she told them quietly. “Something really bad. My girlfriend was killed and… I needed to get away and… Just do some stuff. Beacon Hills…”

She looked around the mall for a bit before she took a deep breath. “My girlfriend’s family is from here,” she finally said, not looking at the girls. “I think I just… Wanted to be closer to her. I never intended to stay long but I thought I shouldn’t skip school, either. I haven’t actually worked up the courage to talk to her family yet, mostly.”

The girls shared a look and Erica stood up. “I have to make a call,” she said and moved away fast.

Cat stared after her and Allison put a hand on her arm. “Don’t take it personally,” she advised her. “Erica isn’t good with feelings. We’re sorry you’ve gone through something like that.”

Lydia nodded, fiddling with her cup. “Yeah… I hope you can work it out with your girlfriend’s family soon,” she said, smiling a bit.

Cat returned her smile hesitantly. “Yeah… Let’s hope so,” she agreed just as Erica came back.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, frowning. “I have to go, there’s something important I have to do.”

She looked at Lydia. “You’re my ride, so…” She looked at Cat again. “Sorry, would it be terrible to ask you to come with us? I can take care of my business real quick and we can go catch a movie after? How does that sound?”

Cat thought about if for a second while Allison and Lydia shared a surprised look.

“Yeah, why not?” Cat finally agreed and got up, followed by the other two. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Great,” Erica said, smiling brightly. “We have to go to the lacrosse field,” she told Lydia who nodded in sudden understanding.

Together, the four girls walked outside.

“Why don’t you ride with us and we come back for your bike later?” Allison asked and Cat agreed.

 

***

 

Stiles sat on the bleachers next to Derek as they waited for the girls to bring Cat over. Erica had called a few minutes ago, changing the plan to have them meet right away.

“Just have it out of the way,” she’d told Derek. “She already said she just wants to meet her girlfriend’s family but is too chicken to do it.”

After a bit of grumbling, Derek had agreed and they all had come over to the field.

When the girls arrived, Stiles could practically see Cat stopping dead in her tracks and, with a little squeeze of Derek’s shoulder, he got up to talk to her.

 

“Hey,” he said when he reached her, the girls sitting next to their boyfriends. “Sorry for jumping you like this.”

Cat’s gaze flitted from the pack to Stiles and back. “What are you going to do to me?” she whispered. “How did you _find out_?”

Stiles shrugged. “Your eyes changed,” he told her. “You know… Twice. Yesterday.”

She blushed and groaned. “God, I forgot about that,” she muttered. “But that still doesn’t explain how you know.” She eyed him. “What _do_ you know?”

Stiles took her hand and led her closer. She followed him warily, but apparently the relaxed position of the pack made her felt as safe as possible.

“I researched,” Stiles explained. “It’s what I’m good at. I figured out you’re a werecat.”

Cat sighed and nodded in defeat. “Yeah, that’s true,” she agreed and let her eyes change for the others to see. “What else?” Her eyes landed on Lydia.

“I recognized Lydia’s features on Micaela,” Stiles said quietly. “And then I asked Jackson if Lydia has some relatives in Florida. Peter explained the rest.”

The older man nodded and stood up. “I remembered how Lydia’s family came to town,” he explained. “And that her aunt, who was a werecat, moved away after her grandmother died.”

Cat sighed again. “So you figured it all out then,” she conceded. “What are you going to do to me?” she repeated her earlier question.

Derek stayed seated but Stiles moved back to him anyway, leaning into him.

“We won’t hurt you, if you don’t hurt us,” Derek explained and his eyes shifted to Alpha red for a second. “There are hunters in town but they don’t know about you. As long as you don’t attack humans, we won’t tell them, either. But before I decide if I’ll let you stay in town I want to know what exactly you want. We figure you want something from Lydia and her mother?”

 

Cat looked at Lydia at those words and nodded. “Yes,” she whispered and sat down on the grass, finally relaxed enough to do so.

Lydia stood up and walked down to her, Jackson following. The others stayed where they were but Lydia and Jackson sat down closer to Cat.

“You look a lot like her, like Micaela,” Cat told Lydia, smiling sadly. “Her mother had been my mother’s best friend and she and I were born just a few weeks shy of each other. So we grew up together. When we were fifteen we became a couple.”

She closed her eyes. “Three weeks ago I came home and found her. She’d been killed and left in my backyard. I… I didn’t know what to do.”

Her eyes filled with tears and she stared at her lap. “Her mother had died when we were ten and she’d moved into our house, because her father had left years ago. She was my everything and now she’s dead and… I just…”

She took a deep breath and looked at Lydia. “I know that your mother lost all contact with Aunt Anne but I thought I could come here and just… Tell her. How great she was, how much Micaela wished she’d known her. We had plans, after graduation we wanted to come her and meet her…

We found you on Facebook and Mica was always going on about meeting you. I thought I could at least make part of her dream come true.”

 

Stiles was sure he could see tears in Lydia’s eyes and a quick look around showed him Allison gripping Scott’s arm tightly and Isaac leaning into Derek on the other side.

“Why didn’t you say so from the beginning?” Peter asked, staring at Cat. “You’ve been at school, seeing Lydia, befriending our Alpha’s mate… You could have said something.”

Cat’s eyes widened and she looked at Derek. “I didn’t know,” she cried. “I swear, if I’d known, I wouldn’t have…” She looked at Stiles. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He lifted his hands. “Because Grumpy here didn’t tell me until earlier today,” he answered and Derek growled at him.

Cat swallowed. “I’m really sorry, Alpha,” she said. “When I came into the school I smelled the werewolves, of course, and I was terrified. But none of them seemed to know what I am and Stiles was nice to me and I just… I needed friends. And I thought I could find out more about Lydia first. See if she had inherited her family’s genes.”

Everyone startled at that and Lydia sat up straighter. “What do you mean?” she asked.

Cat blinked in confusion. “I wanted to know if you’re a werecat,” she explained. “I mean, Aunt Anne always said her sister wasn’t one, which is why they stopped talking – your mother didn’t want anything to do with the supernatural anymore after your grandmother’s death – but you could still be one. But you don’t smell like one,” she added, almost apolegtic.

Peter slapped a hand against his forehead. “Of course,” he groaned. “That’s why the bite didn’t change you,” he explained. “You might not be a werecat, but the gene, the possibility is still there. So you can’t be changed by another were.”

Everyone thought this over. “So, does this mean,” Stiles asked hesitantly, “if she get bit by a werecat instead she could turn into one?”

Cat shrugged. “Might be,” she agreed. “For werecats, it’s not like werewolves. We don’t have packs or an Alpha. But only the female bite can turn.”

She looked at Lydia. “So, if you wanted, I could do it for you,” she finished.

Lydia blinked. “I… I really don’t know,” she said helplessly and looked at Derek.

“I don’t think we have to make that decision right now,” he growled out and Cat nodded, averting her eyes.

“Of course not,” she agreed. “It’s just a possibility.”

 

“So, that’s it?” Isaac asked. “That’s all you wanted here? To see your girlfriend’s family and see if Lydia is a werecat?”

Cat shrugged. “Basically? I just… I can’t go home,” she said quietly. “I don’t feel safe there anymore, not without Mica. I thought I could start a new life here, maybe. But I won’t intrude on your territory any longer if you don’t want me here, Alpha,” she added, looking straight at Derek.

Derek looked at his pack and then sighed. “For now, you’re welcome to stay,” he said. “You’re not a threat and I would hate to drive you away.”

The pack nodded, even Jackson who still held onto Lydia a bit too tightly.

“Yeah, we can be friends,” Allison said smiling. “Now that the others know what you are and that you’re not a threat they’ll stop glowering at you so much, too.”

Everyone laughed and Stiles leaned into Derek happily.

“This went well,” he muttered as he watched the pack getting up and closer to Cat, finally ready to really get to know her.

Derek nodded and Peter sat down beside him. “Yes. I’m pretty sure there will be more stuff to work out but right now? This is good.”

Peter snorted. “A werecat in a werewolf pack? We really hate the traditional, don’t we?”

Derek snarled. “She’s not pack,” he said but Stiles missed his usual heat behind it.

“Not yet,” he teased Derek. “I’m pretty sure she’ll grow on you. She’s like me in that aspect.”

Derek shook his head but turned to kiss Stiles quickly as they continued to watch the pack.

Finally _Stiles thought_ it feels like I really belong here. _He tightened his grip on Derek’s arm and closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of home and peace he got from his mate._

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [I Just Want to be More than a Memory](https://archiveofourown.org/works/659608) by [KenneStu (xMissxSpunkyx)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xMissxSpunkyx/pseuds/KenneStu)




End file.
